Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he has joined Senate colleagues in launching a new investigation into the federal Department of Labor after releasing new data revealing the Trump administration’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) performed 20% fewer inspections and issued 42% fewer fines for severe workplace violations in 2025.
Both figures indicate that the Department of Labor may be discouraging inspectors from enforcing workplace safety laws.
The investigation will examine the department’s broader plans to eliminate key safety regulations, putting U.S. workers at serious risk. The lawmakers pressed for answers regarding the decline in OSHA enforcement actions, and the department’s recent attempts to roll back safety rules — including those that protect workers from leading causes of death on the job.
“Your agency has tried to cloak your deregulatory agenda in the language of ‘putting workers first,’ but the reality is that the Labor Department is prioritizing the interests of unscrupulous employers over Americans who work hard in dangerous environments to provide for their families,” the senators wrote to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Keeling.
Over the last year, the Trump administration has proposed massive cuts to OSHA’s funding, threatening the agency’s ability to effectively oversee more than 8 million worksites across the country. At the same time, the Department of Labor has rolled out a deregulatory agenda that proposes to get rid of many regulations that keep U.S. workers safe, including:
- Eliminating the authority of the Mine Safety and Health Administration —which protects coal miners from hazards like black lung disease— to require mine operators to ensure proper ventilation and prevent roof collapses in mines;
- Announcement of plans to eliminate requirements for adequate lighting on construction sites—even though about one of every twenty construction worker deaths are caused by visibility issues, including poor lighting. Construction is the leading sector for worker fatalities;
- Announcement of plans to limit OSHA’s ability to hold employers accountable for unsafe working conditions in inherently unsafe professions; and
- Loosening of respirator requirements for workers exposed to carcinogens, lead, asbestos, and formaldehyde.
An independent analysis of OSHA enforcement actions during the first nine months of the Trump administration supported the data provided to the office of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, finding that the agency brought 35 percent fewer cases than the same period in previous administrations. It also found that OSHA imposed just $94 million in penalties—47% lower compared to the first nine months of the last 17 years.
“If employers know that they are unlikely to face hefty fines, they may be less likely to adhere to safety standards that keep American workers safe in their places of employment,” the lawmakers warned.
The senators requested a response to their questions no later than March 4, 2026, including answers as to whether OSHA has directed inspectors to reduce the number of inspections, citations issued for workplace violations, or reduce citations for a certain type of violation.
The letter was led by Warren. In addition to Wyden, the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., Tammy Baldwin, D-Ill., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif.
The full letter is here.
A web version of this release is here.
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