September 24, 2023
The Coalition for Workplace Safety (CWS) has submitted a letter — which the American Rental Association (ARA) has signed along with 73 other organizations — to the U.S. Department of Labor requesting a 60-day extension to the comment period on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) notice of proposed rulemaking to the “Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process.”
OSHA’s proposed rulemaking would allow employees to designate nonemployees as their representative during facility walkarounds with OSHA compliance safety and health officers. CWS’s letter stated this is a significant change to OSHA’s procedures for workplace safety inspections, and that a 60-day extension to the comment period would ensure the regulated community has the opportunity it needs to analyze the changes, assess their potential impacts, and draft comprehensive comments that will fully address the consequences of these changes on the economy, business operations and workplace dynamics.
CWS also said that by providing this extension, OSHA will obtain more insightful and useful input from the regulated community before making such significant changes to its procedures.
You can view a copy of the CWS letter to the Department of Labor here.
OSHA’s proposed rule for the Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process can be viewed here.
