The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has pushed to Nov. 13 the deadline for comment regarding its proposal to revise regulations regarding who may be authorized to act as an employee representative to accompany OSHA compliance officers during workplace inspections. The rule initially was published Aug. 30, and the deadline previously was Oct. 30.
In August, NRCA reported that under federal law, employers and employees have the right to have a representative authorized by them to accompany OSHA officials during a workplace inspection. According to the Department of Labor, the proposed rule clarifies employees may authorize as their representative an employee or a nonemployee from a third party if the compliance officer determines the third party is reasonably necessary to conduct an effective inspection. The proposed changes also clarify third-party representatives are not limited to industrial hygienists or safety engineers and may be reasonably necessary because they have skills, knowledge or experience that can help with the compliance officer’s inspection.
NRCA will review the proposed changes to the regulations and provide comments to OSHA based on member input. View the proposed rule in the Federal Register.
