The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced the forthcoming release of a final rule that streamlines and simplifies standards while reducing employer burdens. The rule, which soon will be published in the Federal Register, will help keep OSHA standards up-to-date and better enable employers to comply with their regulatory obligations.
"The final rule is the third in OSHA's Standards Improvement Projects initiative that periodically reviews OSHA regulations with the goal of improving and eliminating those that are confusing, outdated, duplicative or inconsistent," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels. "OSHA estimates that the final rule, without reducing employee protection, will result in annual cost savings to employers exceeding $43 million and significant reductions in paperwork burden hours."
These updates will be in line with the goals of the president's Executive Order 13563, "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review," issued Jan. 18 to simplify standards and reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens.