On January 21, 2021, in an effort to provide enforcement of more stringent worker safety standards, President Biden issued an Executive Order (‘EO”) on Protecting Worker Health and Safety. 

The vast majority of federal contractors play by the rules, but every year tens of thousands of American workers are denied overtime wages, not hired or paid fairly because of their gender or age, or have their health and safety put at risk by corporations contracting with the federal government that cut corners, according to a White House press statement.

A report from a group charged with identifying ways to improve chemical safety and security in the U.S. says that communities with chemical facilities must be much better prepared for incidents than they are at present.

 Improvements were made in U.S. chemical safety and security following the devastating 2013 West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion, but a report issued earlier this month makes it clear how much more remains to be done.