The Trump Administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal includes big cuts for OSHA. The Fiscal Year 2026 Congressional Budget Justification is available here. The plan includes an 8% overall budget cut to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The proposed budget would reduce OSHA’s funding from $632.3 million in FY 2025 to $582.4 million in FY 2026. In the context of rising salaries and costs, this represents a significant decrease in funding.
The most significant reduction in absolute terms is to OSHA’s enforcement programs, with the agency expected to spend $23.7 million less than the previous year’s allocation for enforcement. The budget also proposes a reduction in OSHA’s workforce from 1,810 to 1,587 employees, a loss of 223 full-time equivalent positions. This may be the result of buyouts and retirements, rather than layoffs.
With fewer compliance officers and reduced enforcement funding, we expect the agency to deprioritize programmed inspections and send more letters in lieu of onsite inspections relating to complaints and serious injuries. While already slow to emanate from the agency, new OSHA standards and standard interpretations may become even less common.
