{"id":11318,"date":"2025-03-19T16:59:55","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T20:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/?p=11318"},"modified":"2025-03-19T21:45:47","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T01:45:47","slug":"kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/","title":{"rendered":"Kentucky Goes After Miners After Weakening OSHA"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/span>t’s Trump Time. But while Elon and the Trump regime pillage protections for workers, consumers and the environment, there is great hope throughout the land that progressive states will take action to resist their antidemocratic urges and fill the deadly gaps that Trump has created.<\/p>\n

But some more conservative states seem to be taking Trump’s election as a signal to move in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n

When it comes to undermining workplace safety and health, the Kentucky legislature is on the forefront, first with a bill undermining the state’s OSHA program, and now with legislation that will weaken the health and safety protections for coal miners.<\/p>\n

Legislature Weakens Protections for Coal Miners<\/h2>\n

I wrote last week<\/a> about a Kentucky bill that would weaken the state’s OSHA program. But weakening protections for general industry and construction workers apparently isn’t enough for Kentucky state legislators. Miners are also expected to sacrifice their lives for the benefit of the mine operators.<\/p>\n

On the Federal level, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) oversees the safety of miners. But some coal mining states, like Kentucky, have laws that exceed federal MSHA requirements.\u00a0 For example, Kentucky currently requires two emergency trained “mine emergency technicians” (METs) at all coal mines while they\u2019re producing coal.<\/p>\n

Weakening protections for general industry and construction workers apparently isn’t enough for Kentucky state legislators. Miners are also expected to sacrifice their lives for the benefit of the mine operators.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As the Kentucky Lantern<\/a> describes<\/p>\n

METs are trained to provide emergency medical care and stabilize a miner\u2019s condition. The\u00a0free<\/a>\u00a0training\u00a0required<\/a>\u00a0to receive a state certification to become a MET takes at least 40 hours and includes learning about cardiac emergencies, muscular and skeletal injuries and bleeding and shock.<\/p>\n

But coal industry representatives and their Republican allies think the requirement for two METS is unfair for small mines.\u00a0 So last week, the Kentucky Legislature passed House Bill 196<\/a> and sent it to the Governor’s desk. HB 196 reduces the number of emergency certified workers to just one for mines with 10 or fewer employees per shift. For every 50 workers per shift, they\u2019d have to add another emergency-trained technician on staff.<\/p>\n

That reduction would apply to a majority of Kentucky mines. Although slightly less than half of Kentucky mines employ ten or fewer miners, the language of the bill refers to ten workers “per shift,” would would mean that well over half of all Kentucky mines would be covered.<\/p>\n

Blood on Their Hands<\/h2>\n

Nationwide, ten miners have already been killed on the job<\/a> this year \u2013 more than triple the number for the same period in 2024. Mine safety advocates argue<\/a> that the Kentucky legislation will cause more miners to die and they accuse Republicans of supporting coal corporations at the expense of coal miners.<\/p>\n

Opponents of the legislation have warned that ending the protection afforded by requiring two METs \u2014 essentially having a backup if the other MET is unable to provide aid \u2014 would endanger miner safety.<\/p>\n

Tony Oppegard, an attorney and former mine safety inspector who helped write a 2007 mine safety law that required two METs, has said the requirement was spurred by the 2005 death of a Harlan County miner, David \u201cBud\u201d Morris. The then 29-year-old didn\u2019t receive proper first aid to stop bleeding after a loaded coal hauler nearly amputated both of his legs. The lone MET on site failed to give Morris necessary medical care.<\/p>\n

\"Miners\"
Stella and Bud Morris. Bud bled to death in 2005 from injuries sustained while working in a Harlan County mine.<\/strong><\/em> (Morris family photo–Kentucky Lantern)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stella Morris, the widow of David Morris, testified against the bill in that committee. Morris\u2019 son, who was a baby when Morris died, has also spoken out against the legislation.<\/a><\/p>\n

Stella Morris, Bud Morris\u2019 widow, dismissed any suggestion that her late husband\u2019s death wasn\u2019t preventable, pointing to a\u00a0federal report after his death<\/a>\u00a0that quoted a paramedic as saying there would have been \u201ca very different outcome\u201d if Bud had received basic first aid.<\/p>\n

She said she supports the coal mining industry in her Eastern Kentucky community but ultimately does not want another family to go through the loss of a loved one like her family did.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel like they care about the miners,\u201d Morris told the Lantern. \u201cI feel like all they cared about today when they voted was the coal industry, but without the miners, you don\u2019t have a coal industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

As with the OSHA bill referenced before, the vote on HB 196 came down along party lines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“If the General Assembly overrides his veto, then they will have blood on their hands if the legislation ends up costing a miner his life.\u201d — Tony Oppegard<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oppegard hopes the Governor will veto the bill.\u00a0“If the General Assembly overrides his veto, then they will have blood on their hands if the legislation ends up costing a miner his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oppegard…opposed HB 196 from its introduction. He said Republican lawmakers by lowering the requirement will risk the death of a coal miner while saving \u201cone of their coal operator buddies,\u201d according to his estimate, roughly $40 to $50 a week to pay a second MET on site.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be clear: Republican legislators don\u2019t care about the safety and health of miners,\u201d Oppegard said. \u201cOnly the most callous people on the face of the earth think that way.”<\/p>\n

Weakening the State OSHA Program<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, the bill I wrote about last week<\/a>, HR 398, has now passed both the Kentucky House and Senate, and has been sent to the Governor for his signature or veto. The final legislation was a slight improvement over the original bill, removing references to “qualified” representatives and deleting some of the bad language restricting workers or their representative from walking around with OSHA inspectors.<\/p>\n

But language remains that would prohibit the state’s OSHA program from enforcing standards that exceed federal standards, make penalties optional, shorten the time to file a retaliation complaint and allow companies to sue the state for legal costs.<\/p>\n

If Democratic Governor Andy Beshear vetoes the bill, the Legislature has the votes to override. If the bill becomes law, the ball will be in federal OSHA’s court to judge whether the state OSHA program remains “at least as effective as<\/a>” the federal program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s Trump Time. But while Elon and the Trump regime pillage protections for workers, consumers and the environment, there is great hope throughout the land that progressive states will take action to resist their antidemocratic urges and fill the deadly gaps that Trump has created. But some more conservative states seem to be taking Trump’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,6],"tags":[73],"class_list":["post-11318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mine-safety","category-state-plans","tag-kentucky"],"yoast_head":"\nKentucky Goes After Miners After Weakening OSHA - Confined Space<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Kentucky Legislature has passed a bill that would weaken protections for the state's coal miners.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kentucky Goes After Miners After Weakening OSHA - Confined Space\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Kentucky Legislature has passed a bill that would weaken protections for the state's coal miners.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Confined Space\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-19T20:59:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-20T01:45:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-19-154453-1024x707.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jordan Barab\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jbarab\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@jbarab\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jordan Barab\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jordan Barab\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5\"},\"headline\":\"Kentucky Goes After Miners After Weakening OSHA\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-19T20:59:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-20T01:45:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1063,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Screenshot-2025-03-19-154453.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Kentucky\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Mine Safety\",\"State Plan States\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kentucky Goes After Miners After Weakening OSHA - Confined Space\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Screenshot-2025-03-19-154453.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-19T20:59:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-20T01:45:47+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Kentucky Legislature has passed a bill that would weaken protections for the state's coal miners.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Screenshot-2025-03-19-154453.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Screenshot-2025-03-19-154453.png\",\"width\":1305,\"height\":901,\"caption\":\"Photo by Earl Dotter (www.earldotter.com)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/19\\\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kentucky Goes After Miners After Weakening OSHA\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/\",\"name\":\"Confined Space\",\"description\":\"A newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5\",\"name\":\"Jordan Barab\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":267,\"caption\":\"Jordan Barab\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg\"},\"description\":\"Jordan Barab was OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary from 2009-2017. He ran AFSCME's health & safety program from 1982-98. He also worked at the House Education and & Labor Committee (2007-2009, 2019-2021) and the Chemical Safety Board.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/jordan-barab-81b0218\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/jbarab\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/author\\\/jbarab\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kentucky Goes After Miners After Weakening OSHA - Confined Space","description":"The Kentucky Legislature has passed a bill that would weaken protections for the state's coal miners.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kentucky Goes After Miners After Weakening OSHA - Confined Space","og_description":"The Kentucky Legislature has passed a bill that would weaken protections for the state's coal miners.","og_url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/","og_site_name":"Confined Space","article_published_time":"2025-03-19T20:59:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-20T01:45:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":707,"url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-19-154453-1024x707.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jordan Barab","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jbarab","twitter_site":"@jbarab","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jordan Barab","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/"},"author":{"name":"Jordan Barab","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5"},"headline":"Kentucky Goes After Miners After Weakening OSHA","datePublished":"2025-03-19T20:59:55+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-20T01:45:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/"},"wordCount":1063,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-19-154453.png","keywords":["Kentucky"],"articleSection":["Mine Safety","State Plan States"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/","name":"Kentucky Goes After Miners After Weakening OSHA - Confined Space","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-19-154453.png","datePublished":"2025-03-19T20:59:55+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-20T01:45:47+00:00","description":"The Kentucky Legislature has passed a bill that would weaken protections for the state's coal miners.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-19-154453.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-19-154453.png","width":1305,"height":901,"caption":"Photo by Earl Dotter (www.earldotter.com)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/03\/19\/kentucky-goes-after-miners-after-weakening-osha\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kentucky Goes After Miners After Weakening OSHA"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/","name":"Confined Space","description":"A newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5","name":"Jordan Barab","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg","width":400,"height":267,"caption":"Jordan Barab"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg"},"description":"Jordan Barab was OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary from 2009-2017. He ran AFSCME's health & safety program from 1982-98. He also worked at the House Education and & Labor Committee (2007-2009, 2019-2021) and the Chemical Safety Board.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jordan-barab-81b0218\/","https:\/\/x.com\/jbarab"],"url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/author\/jbarab\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-19-154453.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8s1ZU-2Wy","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11318"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11342,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11318\/revisions\/11342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}