OSHA cited General Shale Brick Inc., doing business as Watsontown Brick Company, with three willful, four serious, one repeat, and one other-than-serious violation after a February 12, 2026 inspection under the agency's Site-Specific Targeting plan and national emphasis program on respirable crystalline silica. Investigators found workers in Plant 3, where molded brick is made, breathing silica dust above permissible limits while the company knew about the exposure but failed to fix it or require respirators. OSHA also found the employer failed to conduct annual respirator fit tests, establish regulated areas where employees are exposed to silica, check exposure levels for all silica-involved jobs, and provide the medical exams required for workers exposed to silica more than 30 days a year; a prior fit-test violation at the company's Augusta, Georgia site drove the repeat citation. Proposed penalties total $496,528.

For the first time since annual adjustments began under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, the Department of Labor will make no inflation adjustment to its civil monetary penalties for 2026 — OSHA maximum penalties remain at 2025 levels. The Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish October 2025 CPI-U data because of the appropriations lapse, and the statute permits no alternative calculation, so OMB memorandum M-26-11 directed agencies to continue applying 2025 penalty amounts. The Department plans a thorough review of its civil penalties in 2027.

OSHA hosted the 13th annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction May 4–8, 2026, encouraging construction employers nationwide to pause work for fall-prevention training, hazard recognition exercises, safety demonstrations, and toolbox talks. The agency also signed a new alliance with Construction Safety Week reinforcing the "All in Together" campaign. Falls remain the leading cause of fatalities in construction; OSHA emphasizes job-specific risk controls for roofing, ladder use, and scaffolding.