NSC Applauds Reintroduced WORK Act to Address Workplace Opioid Overdose Deaths
The National Safety Council is supporting bipartisan legislation that would direct OSHA to provide guidance for employers on including naloxone and overdose response planning in workplace emergency preparedness programs.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- Feb 10, 2026
Today, the National Safety Council applauded the bipartisan reintroduction of legislation in the U.S. Congress to curb fatalities from opioid overdose in the workplace. The Workplace Overdose Reversal Kits (WORK) to Save Lives Act, introduced in the Senate by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and in the House by Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and John Rutherford (R-FL), would require the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to guide employers on incorporating life-saving overdose response into their emergency preparedness plans.
“Workplace overdose deaths are occurring at devastating rates, largely fueled by opioids, but the good news is we have more tools available today to save these lives,” said Lorraine Martin, NSC CEO. “The National Safety Council applauds the sponsors of the WORK to Save Lives Act, which would get the life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone into more workplaces. We urge everyone to voice their support for making naloxone a critical component of workplace emergency preparedness and response to help save a life.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 80,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2024, with the majority involving opioids. The odds of dying by opioid overdose in the United States are now higher than gun violence, vehicle crashes or suicide. In 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved over-the-counter naloxone, a life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication, making it easier to obtain by people and organizations. Today, fatal overdoses account for 10% of workplace deaths, yet only 28% of employers report being fully stocked with naloxone at worksites, according to a recent NSC survey . The WORK to Save Lives Act would require the Secretary of Labor, through OSHA, to issue nonmandatory guidance to employers and mandatory regulations for federal agencies on providing opioid overdose reversal medication and voluntary training in the workplace.
NSC has supported efforts to decrease preventable overdose deaths since 2012 through research, employer resources, policy advocacy and education programs. Through its participation in American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards committees, NSC advocates for every workplace to have naloxone in its first aid kit, alongside fire extinguishers and AEDs. In collaboration with the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA), NSC is leading efforts to include naloxone in the next update to the ANSI/ISEA Z308.1-2021 standard for workplace first aid kits. While compliance with this standard is voluntary, OSHA refers to it as a guideline for employers.
NSC offers a free tool to help employers establish opioid overdose response plans for their workplaces. Learn more at nsc.org/overdosetool.
About the Author
Stasia DeMarco is the Content Editor for OH&S.