2026-11126: 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane; 1, 3-Butadiene; 13 Carcinogens (4-Nitrobiphenyl, etc.); Acrylonitrile; Asbestos; Benzene; Cadmium; Coke Oven Emissions; Cotton Dust; Ethylene Oxide; Formaldehyde; Inorganic Arsenic; Lead; Methylene Chloride; Methylenedianiline; Vinyl Chloride; Amending the Medical Evaluation Requirements in the Respiratory Protection Standard for Certain Types of Respirators; Safety Color Code for Marking Physical Hazards; Textiles; Sawmills; Safety Color Code for Marking Physical Hazards for Shipyard Employment; and Walking-Working Surfaces

Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 106 (Wednesday, June 3, 2026) [Federal Register Volume 91, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 3, 2026)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 33131-33133] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2026-11126] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration 29 CFR Parts 1910, 1915, 1917, 1918, 1926, and 1928 [Docket Nos. OSHA-2025-0006; OSHA-2025-0009; OSHA-2025-0011; OSHA-2025- 0012; OSHA-2025-0013; OSHA-2025-0014; OSHA-2025-0015; OSHA-2025-0016; OSHA-2025-0017; OSHA-2025-0018; OSHA-2025-0019; OSHA-2025-0020; OSHA- 2025-0021; OSHA-2025-0022;OSHA-2025-0023; OSHA-2025-0024; OSHA-2025- 0025; OSHA-2025-0026; and OSHA-2025-0072] RINs 1218-AD54; 1218-AD55; 1218-AD56; 1218-AD57; 1218-AD58; 1218-AD59; 1218-AD60; 1218-AD61; 1218-AD62; 1218-AD63; 1218-AD64; 1218-AD65; 1218- AD66; 1218-AD67; 1218-AD68; 1218-AD69; 1218-AD48; 1218-AD50; and 1218- AD73 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane; 1, 3-Butadiene; 13 Carcinogens (4- Nitrobiphenyl, etc.); Acrylonitrile; Asbestos; Benzene; Cadmium; Coke Oven Emissions; Cotton Dust; Ethylene Oxide; Formaldehyde; Inorganic Arsenic; Lead; Methylene Chloride; Methylenedianiline; Vinyl Chloride; Amending the Medical Evaluation Requirements in the Respiratory Protection Standard for Certain Types of Respirators; Safety Color Code for Marking Physical Hazards; Textiles; Sawmills; Safety Color Code for Marking Physical Hazards for Shipyard Employment; and Walking-Working Surfaces

Agency

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

Action

Proposed rule; Notice of informal hearings. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary

OSHA is scheduling a series of informal public hearings on the above-listed proposed rules. The public hearings will begin on August 19, 2026. All of the proposed rules listed in this notice were published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2025, except for the Walking-Working Surfaces proposal, which was published on April 6, 2026.

Dates

Informal public hearings: The hearings will be held virtually and will begin August 19, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. The hearings will continue on subsequent weekdays. The number of hearings days will be determined by OSHA at a later date and will likely depend on the number of people who wish to testify. Additional information on how to access the informal hearings will be posted at https://www.osha.gov/deregulatory-rulemaking. NOITA submission deadline: To testify, provide documentary evidence, or question other witnesses at the hearing, interested persons must electronically submit their Notice of Intention to Appear (NOITA) on or before July 6, 2026. Deadline for hearing materials: In addition, those who request more than 10 minutes for their presentation at the informal hearing and those who intend to submit documentary evidence at the hearing must submit the full text of their testimony, as well as a copy of any documentary evidence, no later than August 5, 2026.

Addresses

Notice of Intention To Appear (NOITA): A NOITA must be submitted electronically at https://www.osha.gov/deregulatory-rulemaking. Follow the instructions online for making electronic submissions. Interested persons will have the ability to identify which of the rulemakings involved in these hearings they wish to provide testimony on. Those who file NOITAs must also submit electronic copies of all documents that they intend to use or reference during their testimony. OSHA will provide instructions for submitting testimony and documentary evidence to those who file a NOITA. Instructions: All submissions must include the agency's name and the docket numbers for the relevant rulemakings. All comments, including any personal information you provide, are placed in the public docket without change and may be made available online at https://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about submitting information they do not want made available to the public or submitting materials that contain personal information (either about themselves or others), such as Social Security Numbers and birthdates. Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the dockets, locate the docket number and docket link associated with the rulemaking(s) of interest on https://www.osha.gov/deregulatory-rulemaking, and use that link to go to www.regulations.gov. All comments and submissions are listed in the www.regulations.gov index; however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download through that website. All comments and submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA Docket Office. Documents submitted to the docket by OSHA or stakeholders are assigned document identification numbers (Document ID) for easy identification and retrieval. The full Document ID is the docket number [[Page 33132]] plus a unique four or five-digit code. OSHA identified supporting information in these NPRMs by author name and publication year, when appropriate. This information can be used to search for a supporting document in the docket at www.regulations.gov. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at 202-693-2350 (TTY number: 877-889-5627) for assistance in locating docket submissions.

For Further Information Contact

For press inquiries, ASL interpretation, and language translation service requests: Contact Mr. Frank Meilinger, Director, Office of Communications, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone: (202) 693-1999; email: [email protected]. For general information and technical inquiries: Contact Andrew Levinson, Director, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone: (202) 693-1950; email: [email protected].

Supplementary Information

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a series of deregulatory proposed rulemakings in the Federal Register on July 1, 2025, reflecting OSHA's commitment to modernizing workplace safety standards, addressing outdated regulations, and enhancing the flexibility of compliance strategies across multiple industries. These efforts are aligned with Executive Order 14192, ``Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,'' which directs agencies to reduce compliance costs and eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens. Changes to Respiratory Protection Requirements for 16 Different Chemical Substances Sixteen of the rules that OSHA proposed are related to respiratory protection requirements for different chemical substances (1,2-dibromo- 3-chloropropane; 1, 3-Butadiene; 13 Carcinogens (4-Nitrobiphenyl, etc.); Acrylonitrile; Asbestos; Benzene; Cadmium; Coke Oven Emissions; Cotton Dust; Ethylene Oxide; Formaldehyde; Inorganic Arsenic; Lead; Methylene Chloride; Methylenedianiline; and Vinyl Chloride). The intent of each proposal is to reduce compliance burdens, allow for the use of more up-to-date technology, and/or better align the rules with the general Respiratory Protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134) to improve the comprehensibility of the requirements for respiratory protection programs for each chemical (90 FR 28263-28282; 90 FR 28286-28336; 90 FR 28349-28358). Respiratory Protection: Medical Evaluations OSHA also published a proposal to update the Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134) by removing the medical evaluation requirements specified in the paragraph (e) for employees required to wear either a filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) or loose-fitting powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) (90 FR 28463). Safety Color Code for Marking Physical Hazards OSHA also published a proposal to remove its Safety Color Code for Marking Physical Hazards standard, 29 CFR 1910.144, as well as paragraph (c)(8) of OSHA's Textiles standard, 29 CFR 1910.262; paragraph (c)(11) of OSHA's Sawmills Standard, 29 CFR 1910.265; and OSHA's Safety Color Code for Marking Physical Hazards for Shipyard Employment Standard, 29 CFR 1915.90, which require compliance with 29 CFR 1910.144. These standards require that red be the basic color for the identification of danger and stop, and that yellow be the basic color for designating caution and for marking physical hazards such as striking against, stumbling, falling, tripping, and caught-in-between. In the proposal, OSHA stated, among other things, that these standards are designed to address hazards that are sufficiently addressed by other Federal, State, and local requirements (state and local building and fire codes, OSHA's Specifications for Accident Prevention Signs and Tags standard (29 CFR 1910.145). OSHA also stated that relying solely on color to identify hazards is not effective for individuals with color vision deficiencies (90 FR 28282). Walking-Working Surfaces--Fixed Ladders Finally, on April 6, 2026, OSHA published a proposed rule intended to provide greater compliance flexibility for employers subject to the requirements in OSHA's Walking-Working Surfaces standard (29 CFR, Subpart D). OSHA proposed to remove a provision that sets a deadline (November 18, 2036) for the installation of personal fall arrest systems or ladder safety systems on all fixed ladders that extend more than 24 feet above a lower level. OSHA anticipates this change will allow employers to update their ladders when the ladders reach the end of their service lives, significantly reducing costs and offering greater flexibility (91 FR 17165). Requests for Hearings Several commenters requested public hearings on a number of the rulemakings described above (e.g., OSHA-2025-0006-0318, OSHA-2025-0009- 0006, OSHA-2025-0013-0003, OSHA-2025-0019-0003). OSHA agrees to hold a series of fully virtual public hearings, which will begin August 19, 2026, and continue on subsequent weekdays. Witnesses are welcome to testify about any topics, issues, or concerns they have with the proposed rules.

I. Informal Public Hearing--Purpose, Rules and Procedures

OSHA invites interested persons to participate in these rulemakings by providing oral testimony and documentary evidence at the informal public hearings to provide the agency with the best available evidence to use in developing these final rules (see 29 CFR 1911.15(a) and 5 U.S.C. 553(c)). The public hearings will be virtual to provide the opportunity for more stakeholders from across the country to participate in and/or observe the hearing without the financial and logistical burden of traveling to Washington, DC to attend in person. An administrative law judge (ALJ) will preside over the hearing and will resolve any procedural matters relating to the hearing. Although the presiding officers of the hearings are ALJs and questioning of witnesses is allowed on crucial issues, the proceedings are largely informal and essentially legislative in purpose. Therefore, the hearings provide interested persons with an opportunity to make oral presentations in the absence of rigid procedures that could impede or protract the rulemaking process. The hearings are not adjudicative proceedings subject to the Federal Rules of Evidence. Instead, these are informal administrative proceedings convened for the purpose of gathering and clarifying information. Accordingly, questions of relevance, procedure, and participation generally will be resolved in favor of developing a clear, accurate, and complete record. Although each ALJ presiding over the hearings makes no decision or recommendation on the merits of these proposals, the ALJ has the responsibility and authority necessary to ensure that the hearing progresses at a reasonable pace and in an orderly manner. To ensure a full and fair hearing, the ALJ has the power to regulate the course of the proceedings; dispose of procedural requests, objections, and comparable matters; confine presentations to matters [[Page 33133]] pertinent to the issues the proposed rule raises; use appropriate means to regulate the conduct of persons present at the hearing; question witnesses and permit others to do so; limit the time for such questioning; and leave the record open for a reasonable time after the hearing for the submission of additional data, evidence, comments, and arguments from those who participated in the hearing (29 CFR 1911.16). In addition, pursuant to 29 CFR 1911.4, the Assistant Secretary may, on reasonable notice, issue additional or alternative procedures to expedite the proceedings, to provide greater procedural protections to interested persons, or to further any other good cause consistent with applicable law. At the close of the hearings, there will be a post-hearing comment period during which those persons who submitted a NOITA may submit final briefs, arguments, summations, and additional data and information to OSHA.

II. Notice of Intention To Appear at the Hearing

Interested persons who intend to testify, provide documentary evidence, or question other witnesses at the hearings must electronically submit their NOITA via https://www.osha.gov/deregulatory-rulemaking on or before July 6, 2026 and in accordance with the instructions in the ADDRESSES section earlier in this document. The NOITA must provide the following information: (1) Name, address, email address, and telephone number of each individual who will give oral testimony; (2) Name of the establishment or organization each individual represents, if any; (3) Occupational title and position of each individual testifying; and (4) A brief statement of the position each individual will take with respect to the issues raised by each proposed rule the individual intends to comment on. The agency will consider the information in each submission when setting the schedule for the hearings. Before the hearings, OSHA will make the hearing procedures and schedule for the hearings available at https://www.osha.gov/deregulatory-rulemaking and in each docket. OSHA emphasizes that the hearings are open to the public; however, only individuals who file a NOITA may testify at any hearing or question witnesses. Witnesses will be asked to specify the approximate amount of time requested for each individual or group's testimony (5, 10, 15, or 20 minutes). Individuals or groups who request more than 10 minutes to present their oral testimony at the hearings, or who will submit documentary evidence at the hearings, must submit the full text of their testimony and all documentary evidence no later than August 5, 2026. OSHA will provide instructions for submitting testimony and documentary evidence to those who file a NOITA. The agency will review each submission. If OSHA believes the requested time is excessive, the agency will allocate an appropriate amount of time for the presentation. Any participant who fails to comply substantially with these procedural requirements may be limited to a 5-minute presentation. Before the hearings, OSHA will notify participants of the time the agency will allow for their presentation and, if less than requested, the reasons for its decision.

III. Certification of the Hearing Record and Agency Final Determination

Following the close of the hearings and the post-hearings comment period, the ALJ will certify the record to the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. The record will consist of all written comments and oral testimony as well as documentary evidence received during the proceedings. The ALJ, however, will not make or recommend any decisions as to the content of the final standards. Following certification of the record, OSHA will review all of the evidence received into each record and will issue final rules based on each record as a whole. Authority and Signature This document was prepared under the direction of David Keeling, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. It is issued under the authority of sections 4, 6, and 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, and 657), 5 U.S.C. 553, Secretary of Labor's Order No. 07-2025 (90 FR 27878), and 29 CFR part 1911. Dated: May 26, 2026. David Keeling, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. [FR Doc. 2026-11126 Filed 6-2-26; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510-26-P