OSHA anticipates that its planned final rule restoring the column for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) to injury recordkeeping forms will soon be approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), a top agency official recently told construction industry and union stakeholders. The contentious proposal -- which industry has strongly pushed back against, citing legal issues in the rulemaking as well as paperwork and cost burdens on employers -- has been stuck in an extended OMB review process since this fall.
September 16, 2026
Updates to permissible exposure limits (PELs) are the top priority cited by industrial hygienists in a wide-ranging survey conducted by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) to identify public policy areas of concern, underscoring the recent emphasis among occupational health and safety professionals on addressing outdated exposure limits, and possibly increasing the pressure on OSHA to take further steps.
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OSHA's construction advisory panel is considering urging the agency to explore its regulatory options with respect to helping ensure worker safety at building sites with “prevention by design” programs aimed at eliminating possible hazards before they occur. NIOSH has also been studying the issue, and OSHA officials have expressed interest in the concept but question whether the agency can do anything beyond encouraging industry to embrace the idea.
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House Republicans blocked passage on Wednesday of a mine safety bill that was crafted with earlier OSHA reform provisions taken out, likely ending for this congressional session any further action on the issue and handing a defeat to Democrats who made a last-ditch effort to get a bill passed while they still control the chamber in the lame-duck session.
The House voted 214 to 193 in favor of the bill, with a two-thirds vote needed for passage on a motion to suspend the rules and pass the legislation as amended.
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OSHA plans to produce a draft regulatory text for its upcoming standard on injury and illness prevention programs, intended to compel employers to provide comprehensive worker protections, by spring 2011, agency officials said Tuesday.
The draft document will be available to the public before the proposed rule goes before a Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act panel for review, which is expected by spring, according to Michael Seymour, OSHA director of the office of technological feasibility, directorate of standards and guidance.
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Cal/OSHA's issuance of the country's first-ever standard on diacetyl, the chemical used in food flavor manufacturing which has been blamed for causing the worker illness known as “popcorn lung,” helps make the case for federal recognition of the state's OSHA program, state agency chief Len Welsh told Inside OSHA Online.
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NIOSH stepped up its efforts to provide a scientific basis for potential future workplace standards to control exposure to nanomaterials, producing a draft document that includes a recommended exposure limit (REL) of 7 micrograms of carbon nanotubes and nanofibers per cubic meter of air. The proposal comes as NIOSH officials are holding preliminary discussions with OSHA on ways to potentially address worker exposure to nanomaterials.
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Federal OSHA plans to solicit more state plan input into the development of its National Emphasis Programs (NEPs), which the agency now plans to require state programs to implement, agency chief David Michaels told employees of the Washington state plan last month. An advocate for state-level programs welcomed the move, citing the diversity of states' industries as well as the resource-intensive nature of some NEPs, which can put a strain on enforcement efforts.
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Workers' compensation experts are calling for a government study, possibly coordinated by NIOSH and the Institute of Medicine (IOM), to study physician-developed impairment rating systems frequently used by state workers' compensation systems to help calculate payments resulting from on-the-job injuries and illnesses.
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OSHA chief David Michaels told Washington state plan officials in mid-November that the agency plans to rescind blanket exemptions in the fall protection standard for residential construction, nearly two years after an agency advisory committee proposed the change, also sought by home builders and state plans. The shift in policy would require that employers, if they want to use alternative means, demonstrate conventional fall protection is infeasible or creates greater hazards.
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Key hospital and doctors’ lobbies are calling on OSHA chief David Michaels to turn down a request from three petitioner groups to take strong regulatory action limiting the hours of resident physicians, with no word yet on how the agency plans to respond. The American Hospital Association (AHA) sent a letter to OSHA echoing concerns raised by the American Medical Association to the petition.
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Citing worker safety data, a coalition of halogenated solvents producers has filed a rare Clean Air Act petition asking the Environmental Protection Agency to list a competing chemical as a hazardous air pollutant (HAP), a move that could spur emission rules for the chemical that the competitors pitch as a non-hazardous "environmentally friendly" alternative to ozone-depleting solvents.
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Supporters of 9/11 health legislation that would establish a program within NIOSH to provide medical monitoring and treatment to emergency responders, cleanup workers and others affected by the attacks on the World Trade Center are intensely lobbying Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), one of several moderate GOP members who could push the bill over the crucial 60-vote threshold to defeat an expected filibuster, sources close to talks with Republicans told Inside OSHA Online. Proponents currently count 59 votes in favor of moving the bill to a floor vote, they said.
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Two key GOP senators are raising strong objections to the Obama OSHA's regulatory and policy agenda, particularly the agency's renewed emphasis on enforcement and decreased emphasis on voluntary protection programs (VPP). The lawmakers sent a letter to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in mid-November broadly criticizing OSHA for veering away from collaborative efforts with industry and seeking detailed answers about how the agency formulated its new on-site consultation and penalty policies.
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The oil and gas industries are facing pressure from key Democrats on both sides of Capitol Hill to adopt stricter safety standards for diesel engines that incorporate the consistent use of air intake shut-off valves to prevent explosions caused by runaway engines operating in hazardous environments. A congressional staffer said OSHA regulatory action might not be needed if industry agrees to voluntarily tighten its standards.
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OSHA has decided to give stakeholders an extra 90 days to comment on the agency's controversial proposal to define “feasible” in its general industry and construction occupational noise standards as “capable of being done,” a new interpretation that industry officials complain is too broad and could force employers to implement costly engineering controls instead of relying on personal protective equipment to reduce noise exposure, sources say.
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OSHA hopes to incorporate a wide range of input from industry in the planning stages of its top regulatory priority, a proposed injury and illness prevention program rule, by conducting a confidential survey of employers about their approaches to safety and health, sources told Inside OSHA Online. The proposed survey, to be commissioned through an outside consulting firm, is currently being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget, they said.
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Commissioners appear to be divided so far in a possibly precedent-setting case before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) in which industry is calling for time limits on citations to prevent OSHA from coming back after more than six months and citing “continuing violations.” A decision in the case is expected by April, a legal source said.
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Industry officials are calling on OSHA to launch a formal rulemaking process instead of relying on an “interpretation” to define “feasible” as it relates to the general industry and construction occupational noise control standards, voicing growing concerns that the agency's informal proposal to define “feasible” as “capable of being done” could force employers to institute costly administrative or engineering controls.
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A key group representing the electric industry has mounted a legal challenge to provisions of OSHA's final rule on crane and derrick safety, arguing that requirements to certify operators of digger derricks do not fit with the spirit of the law and also protesting a provision that makes utilities de-energize power lines whenever non-utility workers are operating near them.
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