Oct 6, 2026, 18:37 PM by Neil Reichenberg, HRCI Contributing Writer

OSHA has released new guidance to help employers prepare for and respond to opioid overdoses at work. Also covered: regulatory burdens, USERRA retaliation protections, and enforcement priorities for mental health and substance use disorder benefits.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a fact sheet to assist employers and workers to respond to opioid overdoses that occur at work. A House of Representatives subcommittee held a hearing on reducing the regulations with which employers need to comply. The Veterans Employment and Training Administration issued an opinion letter addressing protection for employees from "other retaliatory actions" under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The Employee Benefits and Security Administration (EBSA) issued a field assistance bulletin addressing barriers to mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits, which it has identified as a national enforcement priority.

DOL Issues Workplace Guidance on Opioid Emergencies – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a fact sheet to help employers and workers rapidly respond to opioid-related overdose emergencies in the workplace. White House Drug Czar Sara Carter stated, "Because fentanyl has infiltrated the illicit drug landscape and acts as a chemical weapon against our people, it is critically important that the American workforce is familiar with drug overdose recognition and reversal."

OSHA recommends that employers keep reversal medications that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) such as naloxone or nalmefene. These medications can restore normal breathing. Employers should ensure that overdose kits are stored in visible, accessible locations. Workers should be educated on how to identify overdose symptoms and to administer the medication, safely position the affected individual, and provide supportive care. OSHA states that while the medications are critical, they are not a substitute for emergency services "because the medication's effects are temporary and professional medical care is still required." The guidance also covers how the opioid reversal medications work, how employers can acquire them, how to maintain them in the workplace, key training topics, and additional resources for employers and employees.

Hearing Held on Reducing Regulatory Burdens – The Subcommittee on Workforce Protections of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on "Less Red Tape, More Opportunity: Unleashing American Workers and Job Creators." Representative Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) advised that it was important that federal regulations maintained a balance between ensuring that environmental and safety standards are met while minimizing regulations that create burdens that slowdown work. He stated that "this will make it easier for small businesses, workers and communities to achieve and thrive."

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President, American Action Forum testified that complying with regulations is "costly and those funds compete with paying higher wages, providing workers benefits, and expanding the productivity of the firm." He recommended that regulations should only be issued where necessary and should "have as small a cost as possible." He cautioned about the excessive amount of debt the country has incurred, since this "produces budgetary inflexibility" and limits "Congress' ability to change spending to meet new demands."

Rebecca L. Reindel, Safety and Health Director American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), testified that "Unions support strong regulatory systems because they save lives, spur innovation, increase economic fairness, uphold democracy and create a pathway for social progress—leveling the playing field so that the economy grows equitably." She criticized the current deregulatory efforts that focus on the costs of regulation to industry since she believes that it ignores the benefits to workers from the regulations and the costs that workers will incur if the regulations are repealed. While noting that everyone wants safe workplaces she called on the Congress to "ensure agencies promulgate strong regulations and implement and oversee strong enforcement programs so that workers have the opportunity to return to their families unharmed and are paid and treated fairly for the labor they provide..."

DOL Issues USERRA Opinion – The Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) of the Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter concerning protection for employees from "other retaliatory action" under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). This law protects employees from discrimination based on uniformed service including active and reserve components of the armed forces. In January 2025, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21^st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act added "other retaliatory action" to the prohibited actions by the employers of service members who are protected under USERRA. Prior to this, USERRA prohibited employers from discriminating against or taking adverse employment action against employees for engaging in USERRA-protected activity.

This opinion was issued since VETS received questions about the types of actions that could be considered "other retaliatory action" under USERRA. The opinion cites Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 cases noting that federal courts have found that the retaliation provision under that law is "not limited to discriminatory actions that affect the terms and conditions of employment." The opinion letter notes that in Title VII cases, retaliatory actions have included changes to work schedules, transfers to less desirable positions, increased oversight of an employee, filing false criminal charges, exclusion from professional opportunities, and threats or coercion. The opinion letter concludes that "other retaliatory action" encompasses any retaliatory actions that would be sufficient to dissuade a reasonable employee from, under USERRA, enforcing a protection, testifying in a proceeding, assisting in an investigation, or exercising a right."

Bulletin Issued on Barriers to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Benefits – The Employee Benefits and Security Administration (EBSA) of the Department of Labor (DOL) has identified addressing barriers to mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits as a national enforcement priority. EBSA issued a Field Assistance Bulletin to assist staff in enforcing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) that generally prohibits group health plans and health insurance issuers from offering health coverage that imposes more restrictive requirements and limitations on MH/SUD benefits than on medical and surgical benefits. According to Daniel Aronowitz, EBSA Assistant Secretary, "the Department seeks to achieve the right balance to ensure that its enforcement is fair and even-handed, with advance and reasonable notice to interested parties: supporting access to comprehensive MH/SUD benefits but enforcing compliance in a practical and meaningful way that does not unnecessarily drive up compliance costs or discourage sponsors of group health plans from offering MH/SUD benefits."

In the field bulletin, the EBSA stated that it will prioritize nonquantitative treatment limitations (NQTL) analysis enforcement on three categories in which it believes there is the highest potential for harm to participants and beneficiaries. NQTL are non-numerical rules that limit the scope or duration of benefits for medical care such as a prior authorization requirement before getting treatment. The EBSA priorities include: 1) separate treatment limitations for covered MH/SUD conditions where similar treatments are covered for medical/surgical conditions, 2) medical necessity standards and review process such as prior authorization that are applied more restrictively to MH/SUD benefits than what is applied to medical/surgical benefits, and 3) standards for determining network adequacy examining network admission standards and provider reimbursement methods. EBSA notes that an inadequate network requiring plan participants to use out-of-network care with higher costs or forgo treatment can be a significant impediment to obtaining MH/SUD treatment.

Neil Reichenberg is the former executive director of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources. He is an attorney, a frequent writer and speaker on public policy and human resource issues, and an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University. For questions or additional information, contact Reichenberg at [email protected].