A set of sweeping proposed workplace regulations affecting fire departments, both career and volunteer, have been formally published in the Federal Register. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration has extended the window for public comment on the proposed new rules to July 22.

The Emergency Response proposed rule has been published in the Federal Register and is now available for viewing.

OSHA welcomes and encourages the submission of public comments in response to this proposed rule. To allow additional time for those individuals interested in creating and submitting a comment, OSHA will be further extending the window for comment submission. The comment period now ends on July 22, 2024.

Comments can be submitted to the Emergency Response Docket at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/OSHA-2007-0073.

OSHA will also be hosting a public hearing, the date of which has yet to be determined. To ensure access to the hearing for all interested members of the public, remote access will be provided.

Additional information on OSHA’s rulemaking process and how stakeholders can participate is available at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/rulemakingprocess.

More details on this specific set of proposed rules are available at https://www.osha.gov/emergency-response/rulemaking.

For more background, see earlier Conduit Street coverage: Proposed Exhaustive (Worrisome?) Fire Company Rules Pending Public Comment