On August 20, 2025, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) extended the deadline for written comment on twenty of the twenty-six previously published notices of proposed rulemaking from September 2 to November 1, 2025.

Quick Hits

• On August 20, 2025, OSHA extended the deadline for comment on twenty proposed rules from September 2, 2025, to November 1, 2025.
• Proposed amendments to the medical evaluation requirements in the respiratory protection standard, and new standards for occupational exposure to COVID-19 in healthcare settings, are among the proposed rules for which the comment deadlines have been extended.

Of note, the comment period was extended for the following notices:

• “Amending the Medical Evaluation Requirements in the Respiratory Protection Standard for Certain Types of Respirators”
• “Occupational Exposure to COVID-19 in Healthcare Settings”
• “Occupational Safety and Health Standards; Interpretation of the General Duty Clause: Limitation for Inherently Risky Professional Activities”

While attention to and activity surrounding these proposed rule changes pales in comparison to that surrounding the Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule, there has been some interest in each of these three proposals. Other proposed regulations for which OSHA provided extended comment periods relate to various chemicals and substances for which rule changes were proposed.