Deluzio Bill to Boost Workplace Safety for Public Sector Workers Gains Momentum, Cosponsors

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) announced that his Public Service Worker Protection Act is gaining momentum and now has 50 co-sponsors. This includes his Republican co-lead on the measure, Pennsylvania Republican Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01).

This bill seeks to expand the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970(OSH Act) to include all public sector workers under its defined safety protections on the job. The Public Service Worker Protection Act reaches this milestone of 50 cosponsors in the midst of the longest ever federal government shutdown that is leaving tens of thousands of federal workers furloughed or working without pay.

"No matter where they live, American workers in every sector should have the strong safety standards and protections of OSHA in their workplace," said Congressman Deluzio. "I'm glad that we've got momentum growing behind the bipartisan Public Service Worker Protection Act-we need to take on this gap in worker protections and support the public servants who power our state and local governments, teach our kids, and keep all of us safe. Let's protect America's public sector workers and get this done."

The goal of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) is to "assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women." The 1970 law created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)at the federal level and provided that states could run their own safety and health programs as long as those programs were at least as effective as the federal program. Federal and state safety personnel work to ensure worker safety and health through work site enforcement, education, and compliance assistance.

While the OSH Act protects some public sector workers working under federal authority, federal OSHA law does not inherently cover workers at state and local government agencies. Instead, public sector workers in these states are protected by the OSH Actonly if their state has an OSHA-approved program-leaving a gap of public sector workers whose workplaces are subject to fewer safety standards and are given less protections. As of today, around two dozen states and territories have OSHA-approved programs that cover both private sector and public sector workers. Some states and territories may also have plans that only cover public sector workers. This leaves dozens of other states and territories where public sector workers lack worker safety protections.

The bill was reintroduced in the 119^th Congress in May 2025and is endorsed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Communications Workers of America (CWA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the United Steelworkers (USW), the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), and the National Education Association (NEA).

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