After failing to publish a Fall 2025 or Spring 2026 regulatory agenda, on July 3 OSHA published a 2026 Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. Of note, a Subpoenas interim final rule is up for November 2026, the Emergency Response final rule is set for April 2027, and the Heat proposal is slated to be finalized in October 2027.
Starting August 19, 2026, OSHA will hold public hearings on numerous proposed rules, most of which relate to respiratory protection requirements for different chemical substances. The others relate to construction illumination, safety color code for marking for physical hazards, limiting the General Duty Clause for inherently risky professional activities, and fixed ladders.
Four rules fell into the long-term action category from the proposed or final stages in 2025: Communication Tower Safety, Shipyard Fall Protection, Powered Industrial Trucks Design Standard Update, and Standards Improvement Project. Long-term actions are items the agency considers under development but does not expect to take regulatory action on within 12 months after publication of the most recent regulatory agenda.
| Final rule stage |
| Projected publication date | Title |
| July 2026 | - Open Fires in Marine Terminals (finalized in April 28, 2026, Federal Register)
- House Falls in Marine Terminals (finalized in April 17, 2026, Federal Register)
- Removal of 1910 Subpart U (COVID-19 in Healthcare Settings)
|
| September 2026 | - Procedures for Handling of Retaliation Complaints Under the Whistleblower Protection Statutes
|
| November 2026 | - Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation Complaints Under the Anti-Money Laundering Act
- Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation Complaints Under the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act
- Procedures for the Use of Administrative Subpoenas
|
| April 2027 | |
| October 2027 | - Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings
|
| Proposed rule stage |
| Projected publication date or other action | Title |
| July 2026 | - Mechanical Power Presses Update
- Walking-Working Surfaces
- Rapid REDON Fit-Testing Protocol: Amendment to Respiratory Protection Standard Appendix A
|
| August 2026 - public hearings | - Amending the Medical Evaluation Requirements in the Respiratory Protection Standard for Certain Types of Respirators
- Safety Color Code for Marking Physical Hazards; Textiles; Sawmills; Safety Color Code for Marking Physical Hazards for Shipyard Employment
- 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane
- 1,3-Butadiene
- 13 Carcinogens
- Acrylonitrile
- Asbestos
- Benzene
- Cadmium
- Coke Oven Emissions
- Cotton Dust
- Ethylene Oxide
- Formaldehyde
- Inorganic Arsenic
- Lead
- Methylene Chloride
- Methylenedianiline
- Vinyl Chloride
- Construction Illumination
- Interpretation of the General Duty Clause: Limitation for Inherently Risky Professional Activities
- Walking-Working Surfaces – Fixed ladders
|
| September 2026 | - Welding in Construction Confined Space
|
| November 2026 | - Amendments to the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard
- Lockout/Tagout Update
- Tree Care Standard
- Rescission of Coordinated Enforcement Regulations – analyze comments
|
| December 2026 - Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking | - Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings
|
| Long-term actions |
- Process Safety Management and Prevention of Major Chemical Accidents
- Shipyard Fall Protection—Scaffolds, Ladders and Other Working Surfaces
- Communication Tower Safety
- Powered Industrial Trucks
- Workplace Violence in Health Care and Social Assistance
- Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica; Revisions to Table 1 in the Standard for Construction
- Powered Industrial Trucks Design Standard Update
- Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica: Revisions to Medical Surveillance Provisions for Medical Removal Protection
- OSHA Standards Improvement Project 2025
|
