OSHA Sends 2 NPRMs to OMB – 6-18-25

Yesterday OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received two notices of proposed rulemaking from the DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The two rulemakings were:

• Interpretation of the General Duty Clause: Limitation for Inherently Risky Professional Activities, and

• Updates to Respiratory Protection Standard Medical Evaluation Requirements

Neither rulemaking was listed in the Fall 2024 Unified Agenda, so we can assume that these are part of the new Administration’s deregulatory efforts. It is unclear at this point how broad the rulemaking’s definition of an ‘inherently risky professional activity’ will be, so it is hard to tell what industries will be affected. OSHA’s ‘general duty’ clause has wide implications for many industries. The second rulemaking will certainly be of interest to the chemical manufacturing industry.