OSHA Extends Comment Period for 20 Proposed Rules to Nov. 1

OSHA has extended by 60 days the comment periods for 20 rules it proposed on July 1. Stakeholders now have until Nov. 1, 2025, to provide input on the proposed rules, many of which address respiratory protection requirements. In new Federal Register notices published on Aug. 20, OSHA describes the extension as “sufficient and appropriate in order to balance the agency’s need for stakeholder input with the agency’s desire to proceed with the rulemaking in a timely manner.” The Department of Labor previously referred to these proposed rules as part of its “aggressive deregulatory efforts.”

The comment period extension applies to 16 proposed rules that affect provisions regarding respiratory protection in some of OSHA’s substance-specific standards and a proposed rule that seeks to amend the respiratory protection standard to remove some medical evaluation requirements for filtering-facepiece respirators and loose-fitting powered air-purifying respirators. Stakeholders also have more time to comment on proposed rules that aim to rescind the agency’s construction illumination requirements, remove the COVID-19 emergency temporary standard and its associated recordkeeping and reporting provisions from the Code of Federal Regulations, and codify “the principle that the General Duty Clause does not authorize OSHA to prohibit, restrict, or penalize inherently risky activities that are intrinsic to professional, athletic, or entertainment occupations.” According to OSHA, sectors that may include workers engaged in “inherently risky employment activities” include live entertainment and performing arts, animal handling and performance, and professional and extreme sports.

In response to requests from commenters, OSHA will hold informal public hearings on 19 of the 20 proposed rules for which it extended the public comment periods. According to the Federal Register notices announcing the extensions, the agency will publish separate notices with details about the public hearings “at a future date.” The notice regarding OSHA’s proposal to remove the COVID-19 emergency temporary standard from the Code of Federal Regulations is the only one that does not mention a public hearing to come.

A full list of proposed rules for which OSHA will now accept comments until Nov. 1 can be found on the website of the Federal Register.