Biden Administration looks to significantly increase OSHA staffing and inspections.
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The White House is understood to be seeking a 14.5% funding increase for OSHA under the Department of Labor 2023 budget. This would see an additional $89 million dollars on the $701 million budget for the 2022 fiscal year.
2021 saw the Department of Labor reach an all-time staffing low with only 750 inspectors employed. The proposed budget increase would help to bolster this workforce with an additional 179 new inspectors, and a total of 500 new full-time employees spanning across safety technicians, support personnel, workers for whistleblower programs, and federal compliance assistance.
OSHA’s key goal through all of this is to continue rebuilding the agency and ensure that OSHA is the national leader for workplace safety and health. To achieve this, they recognize their need to focus on increasing their capacity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other emerging hazards, as well as responding to the needs of a changing workforce in terms of diversity, economics, and geography.