Sponsors (6)
The bill expands access to naloxone and training in workplaces (including federal agencies and the VHA), improving overdose survival, but imposes costs, may be implemented unevenly because guidance is nonmandatory, and creates specific coverage and administrative conflicts that could complicate rollout.
Employees, workplace visitors, and federal personnel (including VHA staff and veterans served by VHA) will have greater on-site access to opioid overdose reversal medication and trained responders, reducing workplace overdose deaths and serious harm.
Annual training requirements (as advised for private workplaces and required for federal employees) will improve bystander response skills, increasing the probability of survival for overdose victims in workplaces and nearby communities.
Federal guidance and standardized requirements across agencies provide employers and agencies with model practices, reducing legal and operational uncertainty and promoting consistent emergency preparedness.
Employers and federal agencies will face new procurement, storage, and annual training costs to acquire and maintain opioid overdose reversal medication and training programs, increasing expenses for businesses and taxpayer-funded agencies.
Because the private workplace guidance is nonmandatory, implementation is likely to be uneven and many workers may remain without naloxone or trained responders at their job sites.
Excluding the United States Postal Service from the definition of 'employer' may leave postal workers without tailored federal guidance, creating a coverage gap for a large federal workforce.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 10, 2026 by Jeff Merkley · Last progress February 10, 2026
Requires the Department of Labor, through OSHA, to publish nonmandatory employer guidance on acquiring and maintaining opioid overdose reversal medication (e.g., naloxone) and on annual employee training for its use, and requires OSHA to issue mandatory regulations requiring every Federal agency to acquire such medication and provide annual employee training. OSHA must issue the nonbinding employer guidance and the mandatory Federal agency regulations within 270 days of enactment. The employer definition follows the Occupational Safety and Health Act but explicitly excludes the United States Postal Service. The mandatory regulatory requirement applies across the Federal Government and explicitly includes the Veterans Health Administration. This aims to increase availability of overdose reversal medication in workplaces and ensure routine training for employees, while leaving private employers free to adopt the guidance voluntarily.