Kentucky Legislature Prohibits State’s Enforcement of Workforce Safety Standards That Are Stricter Than Federal OSHA’s, and Shortens Time to File Complaints and Issue Citations

At a Glance

• Kentucky’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health Compliance (KY OSH) will not only be prohibited from adopting any new standards that might be more stringent than OSHA’s, but will also no longer enforce any current standards that OSHA has not already adopted.
• Additionally, the new law, HB 398, establishes explicit time limits for workers to file claims of retaliation with KY OSH and for KY OSH to issue citations for safety violations. In doing so, the legislature has not only truncated these periods, but brought them in line with OSHA limits.
• While Kentucky might have chosen to align its workplace safety regulations with OSHA, the same is unlikely to be true of states like California, Minnesota, Oregon or Washington. With the Trump administration likely to scrap many of the Biden administration’s proposed workplace safety standards, some states may step up to the plate to continue these policy prerogatives.

On March 27, 2025, by overriding Governor Andy Beshear’s veto, the Kentucky General Assembly adopted HB 398 into law, thereby limiting Kentucky’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health Compliance’s (KY OSH) ability to enforce any safety and health standard not already in effect from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and aligning the time limits by which an employee may file a retaliation complaint and for KY OSH to issue citations with OSHA’s shorter limits.

Kentucky Moves to Federal OSHA’s Default Minimums

As one of 22 approved “state-plan” states, Kentucky enforces its own workplace safety and health standards in addition to federal standards (whereas OSHA enforces its standards in the remaining 28 states). Under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (the OSH Act) state-plan states must adopt standards that meet the minimum standards set by OSHA at the federal level but may also adopt more comprehensive or stricter workplace safety and health regulations — which KY OSH had previously done.

However, in recent years Kentucky had begun paring back its workplace safety and health standards, defaulting to OSHA’s minimum requirements — like other state-plan states, such as Indiana. First, in 2021, the state legislature, and again over Governor Beshear’s veto, adopted HB 475, amending KRS Chapter 338 and prohibiting KY OSH from adopting any new standards more stringent than OSHA’s standards.

Now, coupled with HB 398, KY OSH is not only prohibited from adopting any new standards that might be more stringent than OSHA’s, but it may also no longer enforce any current standards that OSHA has not already adopted. While the bill passed quickly through both chambers of the Kentucky legislature with strong Republican support, it was not passed with emergency enactment. Thus, under Kentucky’s constitution, the law will not go into effect until June 27, 2025, 90 days after the adjournment of the legislative session.

Shortened Time Limits to File Claims of Retaliation and for KY OSH to Issue Citations

Additionally, HB 398 establishes explicit time limits for workers to file claims of retaliation with KY OSH and for KY OSH to issue citations for safety violations. In doing so, the legislature has not only truncated these periods, but brought them in line with limits imposed on OSHA by the OSH Act.

First, under the bill, aggrieved employees must now file a claim with KY OSH within 30 days of the alleged retaliatory act (as compared to 120 days per current regulations). In limiting the time to file a complaint to 30 days, the legislation aligns this timeline with OSHA’s 30-day period to file such complaints under Sec. 11(c) of the OSH Act.

Likewise, the bill also mandates that KY OSH must now issue citations for safety violations within six months of the violation. Notably, KY OSH’s current regulations required that citations must be issued with “reasonable promptness” following an inspection, and KY OSH had taken the position that it would “endeavor” to issue citations within six months of an employee’s exposure to a workplace hazard. This legislation not only codifies this practice but similarly aligns the time limit to issue such complaints with OSHA’s prescribed time limit under Section 9 of the OSH Act.

Takeaways

With all of the rapid change currently coming out of Washington, it can be easy to overlook changes occurring elsewhere at the state and local levels. And given the prerogatives of the Trump administration, especially around OSHA and its anticipated relaxed approach to the adoption of new workplace safety standards, employers should be mindful and expect to see continued activity amongst state-plan states in the coming months and years.

While Kentucky might have chosen to align its workplace safety regulations with OSHA, the same is unlikely to be true of others like California, Minnesota, Oregon or Washington State. With the Trump administration likely to scrap many of the Biden administration’s proposed workplace safety standards, these states may step up to the plate to continue these policy prerogatives.

The team at Faegre Drinker will continue to monitor and report on these developments.