Lawmakers Question OSHA’s Removal of Workplace Safety Documents
Reps. Bobby Scott and Ilhan Omar are questioning OSHA’s removal of documents, citing missing materials on ergonomics, EMS response, and violence prevention.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- Feb 21, 2025
Lawmakers are raising concerns over OHSA’s removal of information from its website and the reported destruction of physical agency documents. The missing documents at issue, as originally reported by Popular Information , raise concerns about workplace safety.
In a Feb. 13 letter to Acting Labor Secretary Vince Micone, Reps. Bobby Scott, D-Va., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said they compared the current Department of Labor website with archived versions and found that removed documents often contained terms such as “diverse,” “diversity,” and “gender.”
Among the missing materials are:
- Ergonomics guidelines that identify gender as a risk factor for musculoskeletal injuries.
- Guidance for emergency medical responders referencing the diverse conditions and regulations affecting EMS personnel.
- Workplace violence prevention resources describing the role of diverse training teams in healthcare safety efforts.
Scott and Omar suggested the removals could be linked to Executive Orders 14151 and 14168, issued under President Donald Trump, which restrict references to gender ideology and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The lawmakers argued that OSHA appears to be applying these orders as a blanket ban on specific words without regard for context or workplace safety implications.
The representatives are demanding a response from OSHA requesting:
- A list of all removed documents, their original URLs, and explanations for their deletion.
- All communications from Jan. 21 to Feb. 13 regarding the review and removal of documents, implementation of executive orders, and any decisions about physical document destruction.
“OSHA’s staff should be focused on making workplaces safer, not erasing valuable information for arbitrary reasons,” Scott and Omar wrote in the letter. They urged the agency to stop removing workplace safety materials and refocus on its mission of protecting workers.
About the Author
Stasia DeMarco is the Content Editor for OH&S.