The Associated General Contractors of America, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of business groups, filed a lawsuit in the Western District of Texas, Waco Division against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The lawsuit challenges the agency’s new “walkaround” rule, which forces contractors to let potentially anyone, regardless of safety training, construction experience or intent to accompany a federal safety inspector on a jobsite.
The suit argues that agency officials upended over 50 years of precedent by dramatically expanding the type of third parties allowed to accompany inspectors during walkarounds. Previously, the agency would only permit employee representatives to accompany the inspectors, which was generally limited to employees themselves, with very limited exceptions. The agency’s new measure, however, forces contractors to allow anyone, regardless of background, or safety training, onto jobsites during an inspector visit.
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