According to OSHA’s latest semiannual regulatory agenda, released Nov. 27, the agency plans to issue a final rule on confined spaces and a notice of proposed rulemaking on injury and illness prevention programs (I2P2) in 2014. The regulatory agenda lists the priorities of the administration and the rulemakings they expect to release this year; however, OSHA is not required to adhere to the timeline.

On Oct. 25, OSHA announced a 47-day extension of the public comment deadline for OSHA’s proposed crystalline silica rulemaking from Dec. 11 to Jan. 27. More than 25 business organizations, including ABC, the Construction Industry Safety Coalition and others in the industry, requested additional time for stakeholders to appropriately analyze OSHA’s proposal, develop useful data and provide meaningful feedback. Also requesting extensions were the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Small Business Committee and the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. Most requests, including ABC’s, asked for 90 days

ABC and the Construction Industry Safety Coalition sent letters Sept. 27 to Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels requesting a 90-day extension for submitting written comments related to OSHA’s proposed crystalline silica rulemaking, whichdrastically lowers the existing permissible exposure limit for respirable silica in the construction industry. 

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) Aug. 27 released two final rules that drastically alter federal contractors’ existing affirmative action and nondiscrimination obligations for individuals with disabilities and veterans. ABC was critical of the rules because they, “set infeasible compliance requirements for federal construction contractors, despite the agency’s inability to demonstrate that contractors fail to meet the previous requirements under federal law.”

OSHA recently published seven new educational resources to help employers control exposure to respirable crystalline silica at construction sites. 

OSHA recently published seven new educational resources to help employers control exposure to respirable crystalline silica at construction sites.