Federal Deregulation Push is Underway
Jul 30, 2025OSHA has initiated an ambitious rollback of federal regulations, enforcement activities, and oversight
On July 1, 2025, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) initiated a significant deregulatory effort, publishing twenty-five proposed rules and one final rule that collectively represent one of the most ambitious rollbacks of federal regulation and oversight in decades. The effort is reshaping workplace rules and practices across many business sectors and industries.
These new and proposed rules are in response to President Trump’s Executive Order 14192 (EO) entitled “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” which, among other things, instructed his administration to eliminate 10 rules and regulations for every “new” regulation submitted. EO 14192 was in keeping with the new administration’s regulatory freeze issued on January 20, 2025.
One Final Rule
OSHA published one final rule on July 1, effective immediately, which removes the requirement, 1911.10, for the Assistant Secretary of OSHA to consult with the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) in the development of any regulation “to promulgate, modify, or revoke” standards that are related to the construction industry.
The new rule also revokes 1912.3, which is the regulation governing ACCSH. The narrative explains that these actions need to be taken “because these regulations impose requirements on the assistant secretary that are more burdensome than those mandated by statute, and compliance with these regulations would needlessly delay the secretary of labor’s regulatory agenda.”
The narrative also asserted that “these changes will ensure that ACCSH is able to advise the secretary on potential regulatory actions without adversely affecting the agency’s regulatory timeline.”
A Bunch of Proposed Rules
OSHA published 25 proposed rules on July 1.
General Duty Clause Interpretation
Among the proposed rules published in the Federal Register is one concerning the agency’s proposed clarification of its narrowed interpretation of the General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This interpretation would exclude “known hazards that are inherent and inseparable from the nature of a professional activity or performance” from General Duty Clause enforcement actions.
The proposed rule cites the 2014 United States Circuit Court of Appeals, District of Columbia decision in SeaWorld of Florida, LLC v. Perez, a case in which OSHA cited SeaWorld under the General Duty Clause after a trainer’s death during an Orca whale performance. The D.C. Circuit upheld OSHA’s citation, but in a dissenting opinion, then Judge Brett Kavanaugh said that the General Duty Clause doesn’t authorize OSHA to “regulate hazards arising from normal activities that are intrinsic to professional, athletic, or entertainment occupations.”
Some of the professions that would be excluded from this narrowed interpretation of the General Duty Clause include:
- Animal handling and performance;
- Hazard-based media and journalism activities;
- Live entertainment and performing arts;
- Motorsports and high-risk recreation;
- Professional and extreme sports; and
- Tactical, defense, and combat simulation training.
No More COVID Recordkeeping
OSHA is proposing the removal of the COVID-19 in Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard and its associated recordkeeping requirements (90 Fed Reg. 28257).
No New Column in the 300 Log: OSHA is proposing the withdrawal of a proposed rule that would have required employers to record work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the 300 Log.
Outdated Marine Terminal Rules
OSHA is also proposing the removal of two standards concerning marine terminals.
Open Fires in Marine Terminals standard (90 Fed. Reg. 28362) can be eliminated because it is no longer necessary. Adopted in 1983, it prohibits open fires and fires in drums or other containers at marine terminals. Due to containerization and other advancements, including heated jackets, marine terminal workers are no longer exposed to prolonged cold conditions.
House Falls in Marine Terminals standard (90 Fed. Reg. 28358) can be eliminated because the equipment to which it refers — spans and supporting members, winches, blocks, standing and running rigging used with a vessel’s cargo gear to load and unload cargo — are rarely used today. Most cargo has been containerized and can be moved by cranes.
Redundancy in Tagging
OSHA wants to remove the Safety Color Code for Marking Safety Hazards standard (90 Fed Reg. 28282). According to OSHA, the hazards are already addressed in the agency’s Specifications for Accident Prevention Signs and Tags standard. The proposed rule also calls for the removal of similar provisions in sawmill and textile industry standards.
Recission of Enforcement Coordination
OSHA is proposing the removal of regulations governing the coordination of enforcement activities between OSHA, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), and the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) when such activities relate to migrant farmworkers. OSHA says that removing these regulations would facilitate more efficiency in enforcement activities.
Recission of Lighting Requirements
The proposed rule would rescind the requirements for illuminating construction areas, aisles, stairs, ramps, runways, corridors, offices, shops, and storage areas. OSHA says the requirements aren’t necessary. The narrative asserts that the hazards posed by a lack of illumination are obvious and easily addressed.
Changing Respirator Safety Requirements
Most of the other proposed rules concern substance-specific respirator requirements, including the removal of some medical evaluation requirements for facepiece respirators and loose-fitting powered air-purifying respirators. The rule revises 12 substance-specific respirator requirements to permit the use of different types of respirators. The proposal also seeks to remove duplicative language related to respiratory protection in the regulations associated with Acrylonitrile, Formaldehyde, and Vinyl Chloride.
Comment Opportunities
Employers, trade associations, and other interested parties have until September 2, 2025, to comment on any of the proposed rules summarized here. Comments can be submitted online through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov. Commenters can search for a proposed rule in several ways, including keywords, agency, or the Regulatory Information Number (RIN) included at the beginning of the proposed rule.
Also, after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, one can comment from the rule’s page — look for the green “Submit a Formal Comment” button.
Questions?
We’re watching for legal challenges. Advocacy groups and state attorneys general will file lawsuits concerning some of these changes. However, following the recent United States Supreme Court decision in Trump, President of the United States, et al. v. CASA, Inc., et al., relating to nationwide injunctions, it will be difficult for one lower court judge to shut down OSHA’s new rules for the entire nation. A patchwork of compliance requirements involving different rules in various states could be unfolding.
Nationally, we are entering a new and more complex regulatory environment. Going forward, before making certain decisions, employers need to assess the public perception risks associated with their decisions. It’s more important than ever to carefully examine all external messaging and employee relations actions. Pulling back on safety and other specific previously required policies could invite and foment public criticism and union organizing.
Remember that a federal retreat from regulation does not eliminate legal risks — arguably it shifts the burden to employers to determine what constitutes compliance and reasonable, non-negligent conduct, in a more complex and fragmented legal environment.
If you have any questions or concerns about any aspect of the federal deregulation process now underway or would like assistance reviewing your safety program and business practices for compliance purposes in this new regulatory landscape, don’t hesitate to contact Orr & Reno for assistance.
