House committee advances bill to align Kentucky workplace-safety rules with federal OSHA amid labor opposition

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The House Standing Committee on Economic Development and Workforce Investment voted to advance House Bill 398, as amended by a committee substitute, during its first meeting of the February 2025 session. The bill sponsor said the measure is intended to align Kentucky's occupational safety and health rules with federal OSHA standards; labor representatives said it would reduce protections and limit who may request safety inspections.

The committee adopted a committee substitute and then passed House Bill 398 with the substitute. Proponents, including the bill sponsor and business advocates, described the measure as a way to clarify and streamline enforcement so that state rules track federal rules. Opponents from organized labor and construction trades warned the change would remove existing Kentucky protections, limit who can request inspections and expose the state to new legal and financial liabilities.

Representative Walker Thomas of District 8, who introduced the bill, told the committee the measure is intended to "ensure worker safety while also creating fair and more transparent rules for employers" and to "align Kentucky's occupational health and safety rules with federal standards." He said the bill does not change Kentucky's status as a state-plan jurisdiction: "This bill does not make any of those changes," referring to the state-run program that implements OSHA standards in Kentucky.

Business witnesses framed the bill as a clarity and compliance measure. Kate Shanks, senior vice president of public affairs for the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, appeared with the sponsor. Kyle Johnson, an attorney with Frost Brown Todd, described drafting changes in response to stakeholder feedback and the committee substitute's effort to clarify definitions.

Labor witnesses urged the committee to reject the bill. Dustin Rienstedler, president of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO, said House Bill 398 "threatens the very foundation of workplace safety in our state," adding that it "weakens the state's ability to protect workers from unsafe conditions, it reduces accountability for employers, [and] it removes essential rights to report retaliation." Gerald Adkins, testifying on behalf of the Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council, described cases of on-the-job fatalities and said the bill would remove long-standing Kentucky protections.

Opponents highlighted specific provisions they said would narrow protections. Gerald Adkins said House Bill 398 would restrict inspection requests to current employees or a "qualified representative" authorized by a current employee, which, he said, would prevent family members or former employees from requesting inspections after a fatality or serious injury. Adkins also said the bill would allow Franklin Circuit Court to award "actual expenses incurred including court cost and attorney fees against [the agency] with no caps," a change he said would deter enforcement and burden taxpayers.

Sponsor and committee discussion centered on several technical fixes in the committee substitute. Representative Thomas said the substitute added a definition for a "de minimis" citation to match federal practice (noting such notices carry $0 penalties) and clarified the term "qualified representative." He told members the sponsor intends a floor amendment to correct a typographical error in the substitute.

Committee members asked for additional detail on several points. Representative Kulkarni asked the sponsor to explain differences between the original bill and the substitute; Kyle Johnson said the substitute clarified section 7 (the de minimis citation) and fixed definitional language. Representative Grama asked whether the substitute clarified the meaning of "qualified representative," and the sponsor pointed to a definition in section 1 describing a person with "relevant scientific, technical, and specialized knowledge, skill, experience, training, and education." Representative Grama also asked about practical timelines for inspections; a business witness said, under current practice, agencies typically allow 45 minutes to an hour to allow an employer to assemble representatives for an inspection.

Several committee members said they shared concerns raised by labor witnesses. Representative Gentry said he would vote against the bill, stating he did not want the state to "relinquish our state's rights" to adopt standards more protective than federal OSHA. Representative Lawrence and Representative Tackett Lafferty also voiced opposition during roll call. Other members said they were supportive or reserved the right to change their vote on the floor pending amendments and additional information.

The committee adopted the committee substitute by voice vote and then moved the amended bill to the full House with a recorded roll call. The sponsor told members he would consider amendments to address concerns raised in committee and indicated a floor amendment to correct the substitute's typographical error.

House Bill 398 now awaits consideration on the House floor. If enacted, it would change how certain Kentucky occupational-safety provisions align with federal OSHA; opponents asked lawmakers to preserve Kentucky-specific protections or to adopt amendments to retain family or former-employee ability to request inspections in fatality or serious-injury cases.

Notes on next steps: the sponsor signaled a floor amendment to correct a wording error in the substitute; members requested additional detail about where Kentucky standards would differ from federal rules and about the practical effect of the qualified-representative and de minimis provisions.