Occupational Safety and Health Administration 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announces that OMB extended its approval for a number of information collection requirements found in a number of OSHA's standards and regulations. OSHA sought approval of these requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), and, as required by that Act, is announcing the approval numbers and expiration dates for these requirements and regulations.

This Federal Register notice announces meetings of the full Committee and the workgroups on August 9 and 10, 2016 in Washington, DC.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements contained in its Standard on Derricks (29 CFR 1910.181).

This notice is to advise interested persons that on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, OSHA will conduct a public meeting to discuss proposals in preparation for the 31st session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (UNSCEGHS) to be held July 5 to July 8, 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland. OSHA, along with the U.S. Interagency GHS (Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals) Coordinating Group, plans to consider the comments and information gathered at this public meeting when developing the U.S. Government positions for the UNSCEGHS meeting. Members of the Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) will be present to update Canada's status of their GHS policy and procedures. International conference call capability will be available for this portion of the public meeting. Also, on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, the Department of Transportation (DOT), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will conduct a public meeting (See Docket No. PHMSA-2016-0060, Notice No. 16-7) to discuss proposals in preparation for the 49th session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNSCE TDG) to be held June 27 to July 6, 2016, in Geneva, Switzerland. During this meeting, PHMSA is also requesting comments relative to potential new work items that may be considered for inclusion in its international agenda. PHMSA will also provide an update on recent actions to enhance transparency and stakeholder interaction through improvements to the international standards portion of its Web site.

OSHA published in the Federal Register of May 12, 2016, a final rule revising its Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Regulation. In the rule, a paragraph was inadvertently removed. This document reinserts that paragraph.

In this notice, OSHA announces the applications of Nemko-CCL, Inc. for expansion of its scope of recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and presents the Agency's preliminary finding to grant the applications.

OSHA is issuing a final rule to revise its Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses regulation. The final rule requires employers in certain industries to electronically submit to OSHA injury and illness data that employers are already required to keep under existing OSHA regulations. The frequency and content of these establishment-specific submissions is set out in the final rule and is dependent on the size and industry of the employer. OSHA intends to post the data from these submissions on a publicly accessible Web site. OSHA does not intend to post any information on the Web site that could be used to identify individual employees. The final rule also amends OSHA's recordkeeping regulation to update requirements on how employers inform employees to report work- related injuries and illnesses to their employer. The final rule requires employers to inform employees of their right to report work- related injuries and illnesses free from retaliation; clarifies the existing implicit requirement that an employer's procedure for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses must be reasonable and not deter or discourage employees from reporting; and incorporates the existing statutory prohibition on retaliating against employees for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses. The final rule also amends OSHA's existing recordkeeping regulation to clarify the rights of employees and their representatives to access the injury and illness records.

In accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), and after consultation with the General Services Administration, the Secretary of Labor is renewing the charter for the Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee (WPAC or the Committee). The Committee will better enable OSHA to perform its duties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (the OSH Act) of 1970, and help to improve the fairness, efficiency, and transparency of OSHA's whistleblower investigations.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Benzene Standard (29 CFR 1910.1028).

This Federal Register notice announces meetings of the full Committee and the workgroups on May 3 and 4, 2016 in Washington, DC.

With this notice, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (``OSHA'' or ``the Agency'') is making a technical amendment to an existing permanent variance, and revoking two others. The technical amendment involves updating the name of one employer granted a variance whose name has changed. The technical amendment and revocations result from an OSHA review to identify variances that are outdated, unnecessary, or otherwise defective.

In this notice, OSHA announces its final decision to expand the scope of recognition for MET Laboratories, Inc. as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).

ACCSH will hold a special meeting April 25-26, 2016, in Washington, DC, to draft a construction version of OSHA's planned Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is amending its existing standards for occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica. OSHA has determined that employees exposed to respirable crystalline silica at the previous permissible exposure limits face a significant risk of material impairment to their health. The evidence in the record for this rulemaking indicates that workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica are at increased risk of developing silicosis and other non-malignant respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and kidney disease. This final rule establishes a new permissible exposure limit of 50 micrograms of respirable crystalline silica per cubic meter of air (50 [mu]g/m\3\) as an 8-hour time- weighted average in all industries covered by the rule. It also includes other provisions to protect employees, such as requirements for exposure assessment, methods for controlling exposure, respiratory protection, medical surveillance, hazard communication, and recordkeeping. OSHA is issuing two separate standardsone for general industry and maritime, and the other for constructionin order to tailor requirements to the circumstances found in these sectors.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend and revise the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements contained in the Standard on Process Safety Management (PSM) of Highly Hazardous Chemicals.

This document provides the interim final text of regulations governing the employee protection (retaliation or whistleblower) provisions of section 31307 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21 or the Act). This rule establishes procedures and time frames for the handling of retaliation complaints under MAP- 21, including procedures and time frames for employee complaints to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), investigations by OSHA, appeals of OSHA determinations to an administrative law judge (ALJ) for a hearing de novo, hearings by ALJs, review of ALJ decisions by the Administrative Review Board (ARB) (acting on behalf of the Secretary of Labor) and judicial review of the Secretary's final decision. It also sets forth the Secretary's interpretations of the MAP-21 whistleblower provision on certain matters.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the information collection requirement specified in its Standard on Dipping and Coating Operations (Dip Tanks) (29 CFR 1910.126(g)(4)).

In this notice, OSHA grants a permanent variance to Traylor Bros., Inc., from the provisions of OSHA standards that regulate work in compressed-air environments at 29 CFR 1926.803.

In this notice, OSHA announces its final decision to expand the scope of recognition for Quality Auditing Institute, Ltd. as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements contained in the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Standard for General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart I).

On April 29, 2015, the Secretary of Labor announced the renewal of the Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (MACOSH). The MACOSH charter was signed on April 30, 2015, and will expire after two years on April 30, 2017. On January 20, 2016, Secretary Perez selected 15 members and a Special Agency Liaison to serve on the Committee. The Committee is diverse and balanced, both in terms of segments of the maritime industry represented (e.g., shipyard employment, longshoring, marine terminal, and commercial fishing industries), and in the views and interests represented by the members.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend and revise the collections of information currently approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for handling of retaliation complaints filed with OSHA under various whistleblower protection statutes and the procedural regulations described in this notice. These regulations contain procedures employees must use to file a complaint with OSHA alleging that their employer violated a whistleblower protection provision contained in certain statutes that generally prohibit retaliatory action by employers against employees who engage in activities protected by the statutes. The collections of information include revisions to the form for employees to submit retaliation complaints to OSHA, including electronic submission.

This document announces the publication of the regulatory provisions which formalize the initial approval of the Maine State and Local Government Only State Plan.

The Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH) will meet Thursday, February 18, 2016, in Washington, DC.

In this notice, OSHA announces the application of MET Laboratories, Inc. for expansion of its recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and presents the Agency's preliminary finding to grant the application. Additionally, OSHA proposes to add three new test standards to the NRTL Program's list of appropriate test standards.