On January 3, 2025, the NOSHA Act, a bill to abolish OSHA, was reintroduced to Congress. Regardless of whether or not it passes, this bill will likely challenge how OSHA standards are created—impacting service businesses like yours.
In this article, you’ll discover the latest information and answers to your biggest questions about the NOSHA Act:
- What is the NOSHA Act?
- What does OSHA do?
- Why was NOSHA introduced?
- Will it pass?
- What does this mean for your field service business?
No matter the outcome of this bill, all field service businesses will likely be impacted by the NOSHA Act in some way.
What Is the NOSHA Act?
The NOSHA Act (Nullify the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act) is not a new bill. Originally, it was introduced in November of 2021 to abolish OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). On January 3, 2025, it was reintroduced.
What Does OSHA Do?
After years of movement to regulate national health and safety standards for U.S. workers, the OSH Act was signed into law on December 29, 1970.
OSHA is a part of the United States Department of Labor, and its goal is to ensure America’s workers have safe and healthy working conditions without unlawful retaliation.
Here are a few things that OSHA does in order to set and enforce standards:
- Enforces anti-retaliation provisions of the OSHA Act and other federal whistleblower laws
- Provides and supports training, outreach, education and assistance
- Works collaboratively with state OSHA programs to ensure compliance and effectiveness
Why Was the NOSHA Act Introduced?
NOSHA was introduced in order to delegate power to the states, rather than setting workforce standards on a federal level. This is being cited as an effort to tame OSHA’s broad delegation of authority.
Here’s what would happen if all of NOSHA passed:
- NOSHA would be deemed an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power to an agency
- Congress would need to reframe OSHA’s rulemaking authority (or Congress would need to take on the rulemaking responsibilities)
- OSHA’s already limited rulemaking activity would dramatically decrease
Will It Pass?
More than likely, experts believe the NOSHA Act won’t pass. However, it is likely that this bill will challenge the way that OSHA standards are created.
Historically, the NOSHA Act bill hasn’t received much support. In addition, there are no cosponsors to this bill and no companion bill has been introduced.
What Does This Mean for Your Field Service Business?
If the NOSHA Act is passed in its entirety, then the workplace health and safety standards for your field service business will be set by your state.
However, if the NOSHA Act doesn’t pass, then you’ll need to stay tuned to find out what changes (if any) are made to OSHA’s legislative, rulemaking authority.
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