A bill championed by a pair of Colorado Democrats seeks to put federal workplace safety law into state statute in anticipation of rollbacks and lack of enforcement by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

House Bill 26-1054 would establish state-level workplace safety and protections, including the general duty to keep workplaces free from so-called recognized hazards, a historically key component of the Occupational Safety and Health Act that broadly covers instances of unsafe conditions, like extreme temperatures or workplace violence.

“The general duty clause is the essence of employers to keep employees safe at work, and to see that threatened is concerning and a call to action for us to make sure we have those protections in the state,” Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, a Glenwood Springs Democrat sponsoring the bill, said during a call Friday with reporters.

Rep. Manny Rutinel, a Commerce City Democrat, is also on the bill. It does not yet have a Senate sponsor.

“By cutting OSHA, the administration is giving bad actors a green light to cut corners, and that’s how people die on the job,” Rutinel said.

If parts of OSHA are repealed, the bill would let the Colorado Department of Labor adopt state workplace safety standards that are as at least as strict as they were in September 2025.

Under the Trump administration, OSHA has lost hundreds of employees and has sharply decreased work site inspections, according to The New York Times. Safety inspections have dropped by about 35% between January and September 2025 than previous years, according to a report from the left-wing advocacy organization Good Jobs First.

There have also been efforts by the Trump administration to diminish certain worker safety regulations — such as adequate lighting on construction sites — and close OSHA offices, which have labor advocates concerned about the potential for more deaths and injuries on the job.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 92 people in Colorado died at work in 2024, many doing construction and maintenance jobs.

“I hear all too often from people who come down to the Capitol that they feel unsafe and mistreated. The numbers are sickening,” Velasco said.

The bill would also allow Colorado’s attorney general, as well as private individuals and groups, to sue employers for relief. The state does not have the budget to place safety enforcement on an existing department or create a new office akin to a state-level OSHA, so the right to a civil action would be important for enforcement and deterrence, said Valerie Collins, an attorney with Towards Justice, a nonprofit that advocates for economic justice for workers.

“When OSHA gets rid of more and more safety regulations, it allows the department to come in and establish state law standards. That gives Colorado the ability to fill in those gaps,” she said.

Additionally, the bill would direct employer penalties, which could be up to $70,000 for willful violations, to a new fund to pay for enforcement and worker education efforts.

The bill is opposed by organizations including the Associated Builders & Contractors Rocky Mountain Chapter, Colorado Hospital Association, the Colorado Association of Homebuilders and the Colorado Competitive Council. It is supported by groups like ACLU Colorado, various labor unions and the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.

Velsaco sponsored a bill last year that would have regulated work in extreme temperatures, but it died in its first committee hearing. She said she plans to introduce a similar bill this year.

This story is republished with permission from Colorado Newsline. Find more news at coloradonewsline.com.