The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) released its latest regulatory agenda on December 11, 2023. According to the agenda, OSHA intends to advance several long-promised rules in either the final days of 2023 or early 2024.
This end of the year push includes updated safety standards for powered industrial trucks and elevated walking surfaces. According to the agenda, rulemaking actions for trucks, tree care and fall prevention, walking-working surfaces, and use of subpoenas were expected to be finalized in November 2023 and are imminent, with the latest release proposed release date expected in February of 2024. The agenda notes that OSHA intended to finalize an update to its Powered Industrial Trucks Design Standard in November, a delay from the originally proposed July date. Notably, the agenda indicates that OSHA’s high-profile rulemaking for heat danger, workplace violence, and infectious diseases remain on uncertain timelines.