WORK to Save Lives Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill has two parallel workplace overdose provisions. For private and non-postal employers, OSHA must issue nonmandatory guidance within 270 days on acquiring and maintaining opioid overdose reversal medication and offering annual voluntary employee training. For federal agencies, OSHA must issue regulations within the same 270-day period requiring agencies, including the Veterans Health Administration, to acquire and maintain overdose reversal medication and offer annual voluntary employee training.
Who Benefits and How
Federal employees, workplace visitors, employees at overdose-risk worksites, Veterans Health Administration facilities, and naloxone suppliers benefit because more workplaces would have opioid reversal medication and trained volunteers on site. Private employers benefit from guidance rather than a mandate, giving them a federal template for workplace overdose preparedness without direct compulsory obligations. Federal agencies get a uniform OSHA rule instead of ad hoc agency policies.
Who Bears the Burden and How
OSHA must draft both nonmandatory guidance and binding federal-agency regulations within 270 days. Federal agencies must buy and maintain opioid overdose reversal medication and offer voluntary annual training. Federal facility managers and occupational safety offices must implement the rule. Private employers are not required to comply, but those choosing to follow the guidance must handle procurement, storage, expiration, and training logistics.
Key Provisions
- Requires OSHA nonmandatory employer guidance on workplace opioid overdose reversal medication within 270 days.
- Requires OSHA regulations compelling federal agencies to acquire and maintain overdose reversal medication.
- Requires federal agencies to offer voluntary annual employee training on using the medication.
- Includes the Veterans Health Administration in the federal-agency mandate despite title 38 limits.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires OSHA to issue employer guidance and federal-agency regulations within 270 days on acquiring, maintaining, and training workers to use opioid overdose reversal medication, with private-sector guidance nonmandatory and federal-agency rules mandatory.
Key Policy Areas
workplace_safety, public_health, opioids
Primary Purpose
Requires OSHA to issue employer guidance and federal-agency regulations within 270 days on acquiring, maintaining, and training workers to use opioid overdose reversal medication, with private-sector guidance nonmandatory and federal-agency rules mandatory.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Federal employees
- Workplace visitors
- Veterans Health Administration facilities
- Naloxone suppliers
- Private employers
Identified Costs
- OSHA
- Federal agencies
- Federal facility managers
- Occupational safety offices
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced in House
Mrs. Watson Coleman (for herself, Mr. Rutherford, Ms. Tlaib, Mrs. …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Federal agencies, OSHA, Veterans Health Administration
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "agencies"
- → ['OSHA', 'Federal agencies', 'Veterans Health Administration']
- "beneficiaries"
- → ['Federal employees', 'Private employers', 'Naloxone suppliers']
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology