H 7969Workplace Safety

Labor and Labor Relations - Division of Occupational Safety

If federal OSHA protections are weakened or removed, Rhode Island will automatically adopt and enforce those safety standards as state law.

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Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee House Labor

Plain-English Summary

This legislation acts as a "trigger law" to protect worker safety in Rhode Island. It establishes that if the federal government significantly weakens, defunds, or repeals the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Rhode Island will automatically adopt the federal safety standards that existed immediately before those cuts. The state Department of Labor and Training would assume responsibility for enforcing these rules. Additionally, the bill mandates that the General Assembly provide the necessary funding and staff to maintain these safety inspections and protections if the federal system is compromised.

For younger readers

There are rules called OSHA that make sure jobs are safe for workers, like making sure construction workers wear helmets. This bill says that if the leaders of the country try to take away these safety rules or stop checking to make sure companies are following them, Rhode Island will keep using the old rules anyway. The state government promises to pay for people to check on businesses to make sure workers stay safe, so nobody gets hurt just because the main rules were changed or removed.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

EmployeesBusiness OwnersDepartment of Labor and TrainingGeneral AssemblyTaxpayers

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

Amount unknown

Estimated revenue

Amount unknown

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Safeguards worker health and safety by ensuring that essential protections remain in place even if federal OSHA regulations are weakened or dismantled by a future administration.
Mandates that the state legislature appropriate necessary funds and staff for enforcement, demonstrating a binding commitment to robust public services and the welfare of the labor force.
Prevents the erosion of labor rights by automatically codifying existing federal standards into state law, thereby shielding Rhode Island workers from potential corporate-friendly federal deregulation.
Adopts federal standards only as they existed prior to federal cuts, potentially freezing regulations in place rather than proactively improving safety standards to be better than the federal baseline.
Relies on the discretion of the Director of the Department of Labor and Training to determine when federal action has "materially diminished" protections, which could lead to delays or hesitation in implementation.
Does not immediately expand worker protections or address current gaps in safety regulations, but rather functions only as a defensive measure against future federal cuts.

For Conservatives

Asserts state sovereignty by transferring regulatory authority from the federal bureaucracy to the state level, allowing Rhode Island to manage its own occupational safety landscape if the federal government steps back.
Maintains regulatory stability for businesses by preventing abrupt changes or voids in safety standards, ensuring employers know the rules of operation even during federal upheaval.
Explicitly reserves the right of the General Assembly to amend, supplement, or repeal any adopted standards, ensuring that elected state representatives retain final control over the laws.
Creates a potentially massive financial burden on state taxpayers by mandating the creation of a large state-level enforcement bureaucracy to replace functions previously funded by the federal government.
Automatically adopts thousands of pages of federal regulations into state law without individual debate or review by state legislators, bypassing the standard democratic legislative process.
Significantly increases the size and scope of state government, granting the Department of Labor and Training expansive new authority to inspect, regulate, and penalize private businesses.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 20 additions

SECTION 1. Chapter 28-20 of the General Laws entitled "Division of Occupational Safety" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 28-20-36. Workers’ rights and worker safety.

(a) Upon a determination by the director of the department of labor and training that the federal government has taken action to materially diminish the scope, enforcement capacity, or regulatory authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, whether through repeal, defunding, reduction in force, rulemaking, executive order, or any other federal action that substantially curtails the protections afforded to workers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. § 651 et seq.) and its implementing regulations, the occupational safety and health standards codified in Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations Parts 1900 through 1990, as in effect immediately prior to such federal action, shall be deemed adopted as the law of the State of Rhode Island and shall be administered and enforced by the department of labor and training.

(b) The director shall promptly notify the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of the senate upon making such determination. The general assembly shall, during the legislative session in which such determination is made or, if the general assembly is not in session, during the next regular session, appropriate such funds and authorize such additional full-time equivalent positions as are necessary to enable the department of labor and training to effectively administer and enforce the standards adopted pursuant to this section.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the general assembly from subsequently amending, supplementing, or repealing any standard so adopted through the ordinary legislative process.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.