{"id":32904,"date":"2025-10-23T22:14:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T05:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/what-will-osha-look-like-when-the-government-reopens\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T22:14:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T05:14:15","slug":"what-will-osha-look-like-when-the-government-reopens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/what-will-osha-look-like-when-the-government-reopens\/","title":{"rendered":"What will OSHA look like when the government reopens?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/img\/play.svg?500116090725\" alt=\"-\"><br \/>\n        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">4 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dmgi9movl\/video\/upload\/q_1\/v1761240166\/news\/text_to_speech\/osha-construction-government-shutdown-heat-rule_nh9qha.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The federal government\u2019s shutdown has crossed the three-week threshold, and there isn\u2019t a clear timeline yet for when it could be resolved.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>For agencies like OSHA, that time lost during the closure is hard to gain back for necessary work.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cI think of it in terms of like when I was a kid in school,\u201d said Jim Frederick, principal for Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm NexusHSE and former deputy assistant secretary of OSHA under President Joe Biden. \u201cIf it&#8217;s a snow day, you miss that whole day.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>It can be hard to make up for that work when the time for specific lessons (or rulemaking) has been constrained.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThey&#8217;re missing whole days right now,\u201d Frederick said. \u201cThis is just weeks out of the calendar that will no longer be there.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Meanwhile, the Senate <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/david-keeling-confirmed-as-new-head-of-osha\/802362\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>voted to approve a new head of the agency<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> this month, but David Keeling still hasn\u2019t been sworn in. Amid all the question marks, employers need to stay in the know while the government remains closed and eye what the priorities may be when it reopens, experts say.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><span><span>Hard-and-fast deadlines<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Though the federal government is on pause, not everything grinds to a complete halt. For example, while most offices are empty, about 20% of OSHA staff remains on the job, Frederick said. This is mostly field staff for the most critical safety needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>But having that skeleton crew means many deadlines still may not be met by OSHA. Even so, employers should pay attention in the meantime, said Phillip Russell, Tampa, Florida-based OSHA and employment lawyer at Ogletree Deakins.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>OSHA is required by mandate to issue any citations within six months of inspection. If that deadline falls within the shutdown period and OSHA doesn\u2019t take action, the inspection is moot, Russell said.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>At the same time, employers should still be mindful that the 15-day period to contest a citation also still applies.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cYou need to pay attention to it, even if the government is not working, that doesn\u2019t mean the deadline goes away,\u201d Russell said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><span><span>Rulemaking timeline<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>With the \u201csnow day\u201d effect, prioritizing rulemaking may be vital for OSHA to figure out what work it wants to carry out during President Donald Trump\u2019s term.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>For example, the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/osha-proposes-heat-rule-standard\/720422\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>proposed heat injury and illness standard<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, first published in the summer of 2024, holds an <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/heat-exposure\/rulemaking\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Oct. 30 deadline for additional comments<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> for any stakeholders unavailable to comment publicly during hearings this past summer.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Much of the time to review those comments may have already lapsed, Frederick said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The Biden administration had prioritized the heat rule. Even at an elevated pace, it took three and a half years to publish a rule that, ultimately, has not gone into effect. The current draft likely won\u2019t become an enacted standard, said Heather MacDougall, corporate safety attorney as well as the former vice president of safety for Amazon.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Critics said the proposed rule was too specific and burdensome, calling instead for a performance-based \u2014 or more business friendly \u2014 version.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Nonetheless, MacDougall believes an altered standard could come to pass. To implement it, though, the Trump administration would need to hit the ground running once OSHA reopens.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThe clock is ticking,\u201d MacDougall said. \u201cIt&#8217;s probably not an easy lift to promulgate a rule, especially a rule like that heat rule, in the next three years.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><span><span>Lower staffing, shifting priorities<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Since the beginning of his second presidency, Trump has attempted to cut federal government headcount. During the shutdown, his administration has announced about <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/10\/17\/nx-s1-5577691\/layoffs-rifs-government-shutdown-trump\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>4,000 mass layoffs<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, NPR reported. OSHA has not yet been targeted, for a few reasons.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cOSHA\u2019s broke, right?\u201d Frederick said. \u201cI mean, the budget is too small, they&#8217;re broke.\u201d As a result, targeting its headcount doesn\u2019t save much money.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Meanwhile, MacDougall said she knew several OSHA employees, particularly at the senior level, who took the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/wtop.com\/dc\/2025\/09\/you-took-the-fork-in-the-road-offer-now-what\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cfork in the road\u201d buyout offer<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cIt would be really hard for it to not impact the work of OSHA,\u201d MacDougall said. \u201cThey lost a lot of people and their ability to hire backfill, I think, is impacted by what Trump is doing as well in terms of freezing hiring in the government. So, I think that&#8217;s going to impact their agenda in terms of their inspection and enforcement priorities as well as what goes on in rulemaking.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>With that shift, MacDougall predicted more focus on cooperation and functioning as a resource for employers, rather than an agency focused on new rulemaking or enforcement of existing standards.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/osha-construction-government-shutdown-heat-rule\/803648\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. The &#8230; <a title=\"What will OSHA look like when the government reopens?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/what-will-osha-look-like-when-the-government-reopens\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about What will OSHA look like when the government reopens?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}