Mackenzie Holds Hearing on OSHA’s Mission and Regulatory Overreach
A House subcommittee hearing examined OSHA's recent actions and explored how to refocus the agency on workplace safety without overstepping its authority.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- May 15, 2025
Representative. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), Chairman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, led a hearing Wednesday titled “Reclaiming OSHA’s Mission: Ensuring Safety Without Overreach,” focused on assessing recent regulatory actions by OSHA and identifying ways to strengthen its core safety mission.
In his opening statement, Mackenzie emphasized the importance of OSHA’s role in protecting workers while raising concerns about what he described as regulatory overreach in recent years. He cited examples such as the 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the 2024 “worker walkaround” rule, and a proposed national heat standard—each of which, he argued, presented challenges for small businesses and deviated from OSHA’s statutory boundaries.
The hearing also highlighted calls for long-requested standards in specific sectors, such as tree care and updated lockout/tagout protocols, to better reflect current industry conditions and technology.
Witnesses and lawmakers discussed potential reforms and the need to ensure OSHA’s policies are both effective and appropriately tailored to industry realities.
About the Author
Stasia DeMarco brings a strong and varied journalism background to her role at Occupational Health & Safety, having previously served as a multimedia editor, broadcast journalist, professor and reviewer across major news organizations. As Content Editor, she writes news and feature articles, hosts sponsor and editorial webinars, co-hosts the SafetyPod worker health and safety podcast, and manages the brand’s digital and social media presence. She is committed to informing and engaging the safety community through compelling reporting and conversations that support safer, healthier workplaces.