It’s that time of year again…when OSHA tells us what is on the horizon for rulemaking activity. Last week the spring semiannual regulatory agenda for federal agencies was published. This Regulatory Agenda provides a complete list of all regulatory actions that are under active consideration for promulgation, proposal, or review and covers regulatory actions for over 60 federal departments, agencies, and commissions.

The Regulatory Agenda for the Department of Labor includes a total of twenty regulatory entries for OSHA specific actions. In this year’s regulatory agenda there are nine regulatory actions in the pre-rule stage, including Communication Tower Safety, Emergency Response and Preparedness, Mechanical Power Press Update and Prevention of Workplace Violence in Health Care and Social Assistance. Seven regulatory actions are in the proposed rule stage including  Amendments to the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard, Crane Operator Qualification in Construction and the addition of Puerto Rico as a State Plan and four regulatory actions are in the final rule stage.

Some of OSHA’s regulatory actions under consideration:

 

RULE

 

ANTICIPATED AGENCY ACTION

 

Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica; Revisions to Table 1 in the Standard for Construction

 

Request for Information in November 2018

 

Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses

 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in July 2018

 

Lock-out/Tag-out Update

 

 

Request for Information in June 2018

 

Crane Operator Qualification in Construction

 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in May 2018

 

Workplace Violence in Health Care and Social Assistance

 

SEBREFA Small Business Review in January 2019

 

Rules of Agency Practice and Procedure Concerning OSHA Access to Employee Medical Records

 

Final Rule December 2018

 

Tree Care Standard

 

SBREFA Small Business Review in April 2019

 

The full federal Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plan can be found online at:

http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain

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Photo of Tressi L. Cordaro Tressi L. Cordaro

Tressi L. Cordaro is a Principal in the Washington, D.C. Region office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She is co-leader of the firm’s Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group. She advises and represents employers on occupational safety and health matters before federal and state…

Tressi L. Cordaro is a Principal in the Washington, D.C. Region office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She is co-leader of the firm’s Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group. She advises and represents employers on occupational safety and health matters before federal and state OSHA enforcement agencies.

Ms. Cordaro has advised employers faced with willful and serious citations as the result of catastrophic events and fatalities, including citations involving multi-million dollar penalties. Ms. Cordaro’s approach to representing an employer cited by OSHA is to seek an efficient resolution of contested citations, reserving litigation as the option if the client’s business objectives cannot otherwise be achieved. As a result, she has secured OSHA withdrawals of citations without the need for litigation.

Ms. Cordaro’s unique experience with government agencies involved in OSHA enforcement enables her to provide employers with especially insightful guidance as to how regulators view OSHA compliance obligations, and evaluate contested cases.

Ms. Cordaro served as the Presidentially-appointed Legal Counsel and Special Advisor to the past Chairman and Commissioner Horace A. Thompson, III at the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC) in Washington, DC, the agency that adjudicates contested federal OSHA citations. As the Commissioner’s chief counsel, Ms. Cordaro analyzed all cases presented to the OSHRC and advocated the Commissioner’s position during decisional meetings.

In addition, Ms. Cordaro worked at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration developing OSHA standards, regulations and enforcement and compliance policies, with emphasis on the construction industry. She has in-depth experience on technical issues including, in particular, issues related to cranes and derricks in construction.