How OSHA Makes New Rules
OSHA standards don’t appear overnight. A new rule goes through a public process under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and anyone, including workers and small businesses, can take part. The process is slow on purpose, which is why many hazards have no specific standard yet.
- Workers
- Employers
- Safety Managers
Where new rules come from
- Research and recommendations from NIOSH (the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
- Petitions from workers, unions, employers, trade groups and health organizations
- Injury and fatality data, and hazards OSHA sees in inspections
- Consensus standards from groups like ANSI and NFPA, which OSHA may adopt. See ANSI Standards
- Directions from Congress, the President or the courts
The usual steps
- Study: OSHA gathers science, injury data, costs and how workplaces would change. It must show the hazard is a significant risk and that the rule is feasible.
- Request for information or advance notice: sometimes OSHA asks the public for early input.
- Proposed rule (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking): published in the Federal Register with the draft text and the reasons.
- Public comment: usually 60 to 90 days or more. Anyone can send written comments online at regulations.gov.
- Public hearing: held if people request one, where witnesses testify and are questioned.
- Review of the record: OSHA responds to the comments, changes the rule where needed, and sends it for review within the executive branch.
- Final rule: published with its effective date and any phase-in dates for different parts, and often later dates for small employers.
The whole process can take years. Small-business impacts get special review for some rules under federal law, including input from small business representatives.
Emergency temporary standards
OSHA can issue an emergency temporary standard without the full process when workers face a grave danger from a substance or hazard and an emergency rule is necessary. It takes effect right away, then must be replaced by a permanent rule within about six months. These are rare and are often challenged in court.
Challenges and changes
- Courts: anyone adversely affected can challenge a standard in a federal court of appeals, usually within 60 days of publication. Courts have blocked or delayed some rules.
- Congress and agencies: a rule can be overturned by Congress or reversed by a later administration through a new rulemaking.
- Delays and changes in effective dates are common, so a rule you read about may not be in force yet.
- State plans must adopt rules at least as effective as federal OSHA’s within a set time and may go further. See State Plans Overview.
Tracking rules in progress
Examples of long rulemakings include silica, beryllium, walkaround representatives and heat illness prevention. Check the status of any proposal directly, because it can change. See Heat Illness, State Heat Rules and Walkaround Representatives.
- OSHA’s rulemaking page lists proposed and final rules.
- The Federal Register and regulations.gov show the actual text and public comments.
- The semiannual Regulatory Agenda lists what OSHA plans next.
How you can take part
- Submit a comment on regulations.gov. Real experience from jobsites is valuable: describe the hazard, what works and what doesn’t.
- Ask for a hearing or testify at one.
- Petition OSHA to start a rule, or to change one.
- Join a union, trade group or safety committee that follows rules and speaks for members. See Safety Committees.
While you wait for a rule
Even when no specific standard exists, the General Duty Clause requires employers to protect workers from recognized serious hazards. OSHA also issues guidance and letters of interpretation. See Letters of Interpretation, Reading a Standard and Construction Standards (1926).
Quick check
- I know whether a rule I’m reading is proposed or final
- I check the effective date and any phase-in dates
- I know whether my state has its own version
- I follow the General Duty Clause even when a rule is missing
- I know how to submit a comment if I care about a proposal
Standards & references
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