How OSHA’s Expected Budget Increase Will Impact You

09/21/2018

The U.S. Senate recently approved a $147 billion “minibus” spending bill, which provides about $557.8 million for OSHA in FY 2019, a $5 million increase from what the agency received in FY 2018.

Within the budget, OSHA’s federal compliance assistance efforts are slated receive a $2.5 million increase, with at least $3.5 million going to its Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP). Meanwhile, the agency’s enforcement budget is scheduled for a $1 million boost.

The bill also provides $102,850,000 to OSHA state plans — a $2 million increase over FY 2018 and the first increase for the state plans since FY 2014.

So what does this mean for EHS professionals? While the House of Representatives and President still need to pass the final bill, any increase in OSHA funding means – at the very least – the agency will continue to focus on inspections and compliance enforcement. OSHA’s FY 2019 Budget Justification released last March offered some valuable insight into its near-term regulatory activities and enforcement priorities, including plans to align the Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom or HCS) with GHS Revision 7, continue its focuses on the highest impact and most complex inspections at the highest risk workplaces, and begin the process of updating a number of its other standards.

Let VelocityEHS Help!

It’s important to examine your EHS programs now to ensure they’re running smoothly ahead of an OSHA inspector showing up at your door. VelocityEHS offers a comprehensive suite of cloud-based EHS management solutions including Incident Management, Audit & Inspection, Compliance Management, Chemical Management, Corrective Action and Risk Analysis tools to help you make compliance faster and easier than ever before.