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In conjunction with Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s culling of federal government agencies, Republican Congressman Andy Biggs has reintroduced a bill that seeks to abolish OSHA – the United States equivalent of SafeWork.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) acts as a regulator in the United States, ensuring that employees operate in safe and healthy working environments by providing training, education, and assistance while investigating whether employers follow proper regulatory standards.
According to Representative Andy Biggs, a Republican from Arizona, OSHA is part of the “bloated federal government” and, therefore, should be removed. As reported by The HIPAA Journal, Biggs believes that safety and health issues are better handled by states and private employers.
“OSHA’s existence is yet another example of the federal government creating agencies to address issues that are more appropriately handled by state governments and private employers,” said Biggs when first introducing the bill back in 2021.
“Arizona, and every other state, has the constitutional right to establish and implement their own health and safety measures, and is more than capable of doing so. It’s time that we fight back against the bloated federal government and eliminate agencies that never should have been established in the first place.”
With President Trump appointing Elon Musk to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), federal government agencies have been under heightened scrutiny with the tandem attempting to reduce the size of the federal workforce in a cost-saving endeavour.
Biggs believes that OSHA must be next on the reduction list.
“The federal government has expanded far beyond what our founders intended. President Trump, Elon Musk, and congressional Republicans must be dedicated to shrinking the size of the government and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are utilised as efficiently as possible,” said Biggs.
Trump was quick to bring in mass changes for the federal workforce after his inauguration, as he used an executive order to announce that all federal workers shall return to the office five days a week, scrapping flexible working arrangements.
The executive order that was listed on the White House’s website said: “Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.”
“This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law.”
Along with that, Trump also announced the scrapping of various diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies that were in place at federal agencies – leaving some federal workers who fit the DEI-hire description placed on leave.
Although these previous decisions were targeted with heavy criticism – a bill to dismantle a regulatory agency that is meant to protect the health and safety of American workers takes it to another level entirely.
Kace O'Neill
Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.
