The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health is voicing concerns about Kentucky’s proposed House Bill 398 (HB 398), legislation the group said threatens to “dismantle essential workplace safety protections in a state already grappling with alarmingly high workplace fatality rates.”

“We cannot allow legislation that places the lives of workers at risk and fosters an environment where speaking out against unsafe conditions is not only discouraged but also dangerous,” National COSH Executive Director Jessica Martinez said in a statement. “What happens in Kentucky can set a troubling precedent for workers everywhere.”

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is raising urgent concerns about Kentucky’s proposed House Bill 398 (HB 398), legislation that threatens to dismantle essential workplace safety protections in a state already grappling with alarmingly high workplace fatality rates – 5.0 per 100,000 workers, significantly above the national average of 3.5. 

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is raising urgent concerns about Kentucky’s proposed House Bill 398 (HB 398), legislation that threatens to dismantle essential workplace safety protections in a state already grappling with alarmingly high workplace fatality rates

Keeling will be under pressure to take some of these initiatives across the finish line. Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said her group wants OSHA to adopt a national heat rule.

“Now more than ever, OSHA must be a strong and proactive agency that enforces safety laws, protects all workers, and moves urgently to adopt critical new standards, including a national heat protection rule,” she said.

Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), says that by restricting DEI policies, organizations like hers would not be able to effectively reach the most vulnerable workers, like undocumented immigrants who may need workplace training in languages other than English.

“Heat is something that a lot of people misunderstand, but high indoor heat is something that we see a lot in this work,” said Jessie Cruz, who represents the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health in Chicago. “This bill is protecting a lot of warehouse workers from unrealistic quotas and hazardous safety conditions, but we would like to see more addressing indoor heat and ergonomics for the workers.”
 

Attending the fry station is one of the most dangerous jobs in commercial kitchens, noted Miso Robotics. Almost 80% of fast-food employees have sustained burns within the past year, according to a 2024 survey conducted by Hart Research Associates on behalf of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.
 

Day laborers hired to clean up homes often don’t have protective equipment or safety training, exposing them to “severe hazardous materials” and dangerous environments, said Jessica Martinez, executive director for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a network of labor organizations that has trained workers in post-hurricane recovery. She added that Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric also discourages workers from asking for basic resources because they fear being targeted and deported.
 

National COSH is accepting nominations for its 2025 Dirty Dozen report and relocating its annual COSHCON conference to Chicago.

“We know from long experience that the surest way to make our workplaces safer is to put workers at the center of the conversation,” said Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of National COSH. “Workers know their jobs. They know where the hazards are and how to eliminate them.

“More than 5,200 deaths on the job is still way too many,” said Jessica Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH). “We are also deeply concerned that Black and Brown workers continue to suffer from a higher rate of occupational fatalities, a sign of the persistent effects of discrimination in our workplaces.”
 

"We know from long experience that the surest way to make our workplaces safer is to put workers at the center of the conversation," said Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of National COSH. "Workers know their jobs. They know where the hazards are and how to eliminate them.

“The average third grader gets more training in what to do (with an active shooter) than most workers,” said Jessica Martinez, executive director of the National Council on Occupational Safety and Health, a public interest group."

“More than 5,200 deaths on the job is still way too many,” Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said in a statement.  “We are also deeply concerned that Black and Brown workers continue to suffer from a higher rate of occupational fatalities, a sign of the persistent effects of discrimination in our workplaces.”

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health has been training workers and advocacy groups as well. And much more.

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health has said that allowing workers to select their own third-party experts to accompany inspections ensures that information about workplace conditions can be accurately communicated across language barriers, and may also reduce fear of retaliation from employers.

His first heat stroke came in 2018, when he lost consciousness and had to be hospitalized. The episode inspired WeCount!, an immigrant and worker advocacy group, to campaign for a local law that would require employers to provide water and rest and shade breaks for Miami-Dade County’s more than 60,000 agriculture and construction workers on excessively hot days.
 

Oxfam is far from the only organization that has tried to take action against Amazon and Walmart; earlier this year, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) named Walmart to its “Dirty Dozen” list, accusing it of “unsafe and reckless” conduct toward its employees.

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH), which advocates for abuse- and exploitation-free workplaces, is building on local organizing with a nationwide campaign to pass the federal OSHA rule. It has 20 local affiliates and also serves as a hub for smaller grassroots groups like Warehouse Workers for Justice (WWJ), a worker center in Illinois.