OSHA releases long-awaited Spring 2025 regulatory agenda

September 4, 2025

OSHA released its much-anticipated Spring 2025 regulatory agenda on September 4. Many rulemakings have been pushed into the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first half of 2026, while a few have been removed from the agenda altogether. These include Infectious Diseases, Blood Lead Level for Medical Removal, and Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements – Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) Column.

Three rules moved into the long-term actions category – Workplace Violence in Health Care and Social Assistance, Cranes and Derricks in Construction, and Process Safety Management and Prevention of Major Chemical Accidents – while the proposed rule stage saw an influx of new entries, most of which were published in the July 1 Federal Register. The Standards Improvement Project, slated for proposal in May 2026, intends to “remove, modernize, or narrow duplicative, unnecessary, or overly burdensome regulatory provisions.”

Bolded entries denote entries new to that stage of rulemaking.

Final Rule Stage
Projected publication date	Title
November 2025	• Powered Industrial Trucks Design Standard Update • Procedures for the Use of Administrative Subpoenas
January 2026	• Procedures for Handling of Retaliation Complaints Under the Whistleblower Protection Statutes
May 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
Proposed Rule Stage
Projected publication date or other action	Title
Action TBD	• Heat Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings
September 2025 (comment period end) Entries with an asterisk () denote comment period ends November 1, 2025, per the August 20, 2025, Federal Register*	• Safety Color Code for Marking Physical Hazards; Textiles; Sawmills; Safety Color Code for Marking Physical Hazards for Shipyard Employment • Open Fires in Marine Terminals • House Falls in Marine Terminals • Rescission of Coordinated Enforcement Regulations • Removal of 1910 Subpart U (COVID-19 in healthcare settings)* • Updates to Respiratory Protection Standard Medical Evaluation Requirements* • 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*
October 2025	• Communication Towers
November 2025	• Lockout/Tagout Update
November 2025 (re-open rulemaking record)	• Walking-Working Surfaces
November 2025 (analyze comments)	• Emergency Response
December 2025	• Welding in Construction Confined Spaces
April 2026	• Shipyard Fall Protection - Scaffolds, Ladders and Other Working Surfaces • Tree Care Standard • Rapid REDON Fit-Testing Protocol: Amendment to Respiratory Protection Standard Appendix A
May 2026	• Updates to Respiratory Protection Requirements in Chemical-specific Standards • OSHA Standards Improvement Project 2025
Pre-Rule Stage
Projected publication date or other action	Title
April 2026 NPRM	• Mechanical Power Presses
Long-term actions
• Amendments to Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard [NPRM projected for 8/2026] • Powered Industrial Trucks • Process Safety Management and Prevention of Major Chemical Accidents • Workplace Violence in Health Care and Social Assistance • Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica: Revisions to Table 1 in the Standard for Construction • Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica: Revisions to Medical Surveillance Provisions for Medical Removal Protection

Publish Date

September 4, 2025

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Type

Industry News

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