In a series of reviews, OMB Watch has found that since the Bush Administration took over in 2001, the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has sharply decreased the creation of regulations. Instead, they have made hundreds of agreements directly with companies and business associations to improve their safety records. An OSHA spokesman claims the approach has resulted in safer workplaces with fewer fatalities, injuries and illnesses. However labor unions and watchdog groups prefer OSHA continue its more traditional role, issuing regulations that are enforceable and fair.
See "OSHA Withdraws More Rules Than It Makes, Reviews Find", Cindy Skrzycki, The Washington Post, October 4, 2004