NSC, GHIA applaud OSHA’s new opioid emergency fact sheet

The National Safety Council (NSC) and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator’s (GHAI’s) Overdose Prevention Initiative applauded OSHA for giving employers practical guidance on responding to an opioid overdose at work.

Released on Sept. 24 - Save a Life Day, during National Recovery Month - the guidance calls on workplaces to keep opioid overdose reversal medication accessible, prepare workers to use it, and call 911 when an overdose occurs.

In an opioid overdose, breathing can stop before emergency help arrives. Medications such as naloxone can temporarily reverse the effects of opioids and restore breathing, but it has to be close enough to find and someone has to know how to use it. OSHA’s guidance makes those steps clearer for employers.

The new ANSI/ISEA workplace first aid kit standard, developed with NSC participation, also recognizes naloxone as a supplemental first aid supply.

“With the proper training and naloxone available onsite, opioid overdoses on the job are preventable,” said Lorraine Martin, NSC CEO. “OSHA’s practical guidance gives employers a clear and lifesaving playbook to prepare employees. NSC applauds OSHA’s initiative and urges Congress to solidify and strengthen these guidelines with a legislative mandate to protect workers.”

WORK Act proposes opioid first aid statutory framework

NSC said representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman and John Rutherford, along with Senators Jeff Merkley and Lisa Murkowski, have offered a bipartisan way to build on the Trump Administration’s action. Their WORK to Save Lives Act would require OSHA to issue guidance for employers and establish rules for federal agencies to maintain opioid overdose reversal medication and train employees annually.

Employers can act on OSHA’s guidance now, however, NSC said the bill would give the federal government a more explicit and durable policy framework.

“OSHA has given employers a useful plan, and they should put it to work,” said Libby Jones, associate vice president of GHAI’s Overdose Prevention Initiative. “OSHA’s announcement is an important administrative step that is consistent with - but does not substitute for - the WORK Act's proposed statutory framework. A kit that expired in a drawer helps no one. When someone stops breathing, medication has to be ready and workers need to know what to do.”

Annual GHAI congressional naloxone training Nov. 19

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recorded 410 fatal occupational injuries involving drug or alcohol overdose in 2024. In an NSC employer survey, 28% of respondents said they stocked naloxone at all their worksites. Those figures describe different measures, but both point to the need for employers to prepare before an emergency.

On Nov. 19, GHAI’s Overdose Prevention Initiative will host its annual congressional naloxone training on Capitol Hill, where members of Congress, staff, and the public can learn to recognize an overdose and use reversal medication.

NSC and GHAI urge Congress to advance H.R. 7479 and S. 3812. The groups said the federal government should put into practice the readiness OSHA now recommends.

To support employers, NSC offers a free tool to help build effective opioid overdose response plans.