Review of construction standards coming soon, DOL says

Washington – In a newly published plan outlining how it will assess current rules, the Department of Labor has indicated it will publish a rule examining the effectiveness of OSHA construction standards.

Released May 26, DOL’s Preliminary Plan for Retrospective Analysis of Existing Rules (.pdf file) touts the success of two previous Standards Improvement Project rules that have removed or revised duplicative, unnecessary and inconsistent OSHA standards. To date, the two rules published in 1998 and 2005 and a third published June 8 will save employers an estimated $64 million (2010 dollars) in compliance costs, the plan said.

In the near future, OSHA said the agency intends to include a fourth SIP rule in an upcoming regulatory agenda, and this rule will be the first to address construction industry standards. No publication dates have been given and a cost savings estimate was not available, but DOL said industry stakeholders will be solicited for input on the construction SIP rule.

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