On September 20, 2024, the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) held a virtual Small Business Labor Safety (OSHA/MSHA) roundtable. The topics discussed were the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention and Emergency Response rules. With both rules, OSHA has proposed standards intended to create a safer work environment for employees.
The focus of the roundtable was the feasibility of the rules. The meeting began with Lisa Long, Deputy Director of the Directorate of Standards and Guidance at OSHA, explaining the importance of the proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention rule and how stakeholders could provide comments. She stressed that hearing from affected small entities and receiving data directly from them plays a key role in OSHA’s decision-making process. After the presentation, Assistant Chief Counsel Bruce Lundegren, who specializes in Labor and Safety related issues, introduced guests Bill Wahoff and Prianka Sharma, who provided small business prospectives on the proposed rule.
Wahoff focused mainly on manufacturing and indoor jobs and the ways they would be affected. He stated that excessive specificity was a problem – that there were too many guidelines put in place. A plan for each guideline needs to be considered, which would be costly for small entities. He also stated, under the rule, small businesses would need to examine aspects such as type of job and position, type of building and each room in the building, and machinery, which would require monitoring and reporting. He questioned whether OSHA’s data to request these changes was justified due to there being so many types of heat related situations and methods an individual could be exposed to extreme heat.
Sharma concentrated on the outdoor effects of heat. She explained that people working in transportation and construction do not have control over the climate outdoors. In addition, she informed participants that a national rule and doesn’t account for climate and humidity differences between locations. She mentioned that cooling equipment, providing shade, and requiring breaks for these jobs could create more problems. These options would need to be monitored by someone to ensure that staff take breaks from wearing heavy cooling equipment and designate staff to carry and put up tents for shade.
The proposed OSHA Emergency Response rule was the focus of the second half of the roundtable. Lundegren summarized how the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to consider regulatory alternatives and to conclude a three-part test: does the rule achieve its statutory objectives, is the rule feasible, and does the rule minimize the cost to smalls? Lundegren also invited two experts to discuss their comments on the proposed rule: from the Ken LaSala International Association of Fire Chiefs and Beta Lashkari, an attorney representing manufacturing companies with in-house emergency fire brigades.
The principal concern of LaSala was the impact this rule would have on volunteer firefighters. He explained the difference between municipal firefighters and volunteers and how any disruption in response to public safety can’t be allowed to happen. Lundegren stated that OSHA’s jurisdictional limits over volunteers is problematic. Once a rule like this has passed, all aspects of the rule must be followed by law. In addition, if passed, the standard for voluntary would be affected possibly changing voluntary standards to mandatory ones.
Ms. Lashkari noted that many small businesses would have technical and economic difficulty complying with the rule, and many might simply abolish their emergency response teams and rely on 911.
Advocacy always benefits from hearing from small businesses and learning about the challenges they face. Please reach out to Advocacy and share your concerns about any rules or regulations that may impact your small business.