Fall 2017 Unified Agenda forecasts lighter year for health and safety regulations
Posted December 18, 2017
On December 14, the federal government released its Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions for Fall 2017. The agenda reports on the actions administrative agencies plan to issue in the near and long term.
The current regulatory plan projects the following developments for 2018:
- Better than 2:1. Agencies plan to finalize three deregulatory actions for every new regulatory action.
- 1,579 withdrawn or delayed actions. From Fall 2016 to Fall 2017:
- 635 regulations were withdrawn from the Unified Agenda.
- 244 regulations were made inactive.
- 700 regulations were added to the long-term list.
- System upgrade. The federal regulatory database systematically identifies whether regulations are net regulatory or deregulatory.
- Searchable inactive rules list. The agenda includes a newly searchable list of inactive items.
Current Unified Agenda items
OSHA has 16 rules listed in various stages under the Department of Labor’s Fall 2017 rule list. These include:
| Rule stage | Rule title | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Prerule | Communication Tower Safety | March 2018 |
| Prerule | Mechanical Power Presses Update | March 2018 |
| Prerule | Powered Industrial Trucks | January 2018 |
| Prerule | Lock-Out/Tag-Out Update | April 2018 |
| Prerule | Blood Lead Level for Medical Removal | July 2018 |
| Proposed | Amendments to the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard | September 2018 |
| Proposed | Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Exemption Expansions for Railroad Roadway Work | December 2017 |
| Proposed | Puerto Rico State Plan | June 2018 |
| Proposed | Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses | December 2017 |
| Final | Occupational Exposure to Beryllium | September 2018 |
| Final | Standards Improvement Project IV | February 2018 |
| Final | Quantitative Fit Testing Protocol: Amendment to the Final Rule on Respiratory Protection | September 2018 |
| Final | Rules of Agency Practice and Procedure Concerning OSHA Access to Employee Medical Records | June 2018 |
| Final | Crane Operator Qualification in Construction | November 2017 |
| Final | Technical Corrections to 16 OSHA Standards | February 2018 |
| Final | Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses | November 2017 |
Long-term actions
In a separate list of long-term actions, OSHA lists:
- Occupational injury and illness recording and reporting requirements — musculoskeletal disorders column;
- Infectious diseases;
- Process safety management and prevention of major chemical accidents;
- Shipyard fall protection — scaffolds, ladders, and other working surfaces;
- Emergency response and preparedness;
- Update to the Hazard Communication Standard;
- Tree Care Standard; and
- Prevention of workplace violence in health care and social assistance.
OSHA Rules for General Industry: 1910 and Other Essential Regulations puts OSHA’s workplace safety regulations in a reader-friendly format.
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