2017-28225. Semiannual Agenda of Regulations

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, Labor.

ACTION:

Semiannual regulatory agenda.

SUMMARY:

The internet has become the means for disseminating the entirety of the Department of Labor's semiannual regulatory agenda. However, the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires publication of a regulatory flexibility agenda in the Federal Register. This Federal Register Notice contains the regulatory flexibility agenda.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Laura M. Dawkins, Director, Office of Regulatory and Programmatic Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, RoomS-2312, Washington, DC 20210; [phone].

Note:

Information pertaining to a specific regulation can be obtained from the agency contact listed for that particular regulation.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866 requires the semiannual publication of an agenda of regulations that contains a listing of all the regulations the Department of Labor expects to have under active consideration for promulgation, proposal, or review during the coming one-year period. The entirety of the Department's semiannual agenda is available online at www.reginfo.gov.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 602) requires DOL to publish in the Federal Register a regulatory flexibility agenda. The Department's Regulatory Flexibility Agenda, published with this notice, includes only those rules on its semiannual agenda that are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities; and those rules identified for periodic review in keeping with the requirements of section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Thus, the regulatory flexibility agenda is a subset of the Department's semiannual regulatory agenda. The Department's Regulatory Flexibility Agenda does not include section 610 items at this time.

All interested members of the public are invited and encouraged to let departmental officials know how our regulatory efforts can be improved, and are invited to participate in and comment on the review or development of the regulations listed on the Department's agenda.

R. Alexander Acosta,

Secretary of Labor.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration—Final Rule Stage

Sequence No.	Title	Regulation Identifier No.
291	Occupational Exposure to Beryllium (Reg Plan Seq No. 69)	1218-AB76
References in boldface appear in The Regulatory Plan in part II of this issue of the Federal Register.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration—Long-Term Actions

Sequence No.	Title	Regulation Identifier No.
292	Infectious Diseases	1218-AC46

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (DOL)

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Final Rule Stage

291. Occupational Exposure to Beryllium

Regulatory Plan: This entry is Seq. No. 69 in part II of this issue of the Federal Register.

RIN: 1218-AB76

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (DOL)

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Long-Term Actions

292. Infectious Diseases

E.O. 13771 Designation: Regulatory.

Legal Authority: 5 U.S.C. 533; 29 U.S.C. 657 and 658; 29 U.S.C. 660; 29 U.S.C. 666; 29 U.S.C. 669; 29 U.S.C. 673

Abstract: Employees in health care and other high-risk environments face long-standing infectious disease hazards such as tuberculosis (TB), varicella disease (chickenpox, shingles), and measles (rubeola), as well as new and emerging infectious disease threats, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and pandemic influenza. Health care workers and workers in related occupations, or who are exposed in other high-risk environments, are at increased risk of contracting TB, SARS, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), and other infectious diseases that can be transmitted through a variety of exposure routes. OSHA is concerned about the ability of employees to continue to provide health care and other critical services without unreasonably jeopardizing their health. OSHA is developing a standard to ensure that employers establish a comprehensive infection control program and control measures to protect employees from infectious disease exposures to pathogens that can cause significant disease. Workplaces where such control measures might be necessary include: Health care, emergency response, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, drug treatment programs, and other occupational settings where employees can be at increased risk of exposure to potentially infectious people. A standard could also apply to laboratories, which handle materials that may be a source of pathogens, and to pathologists, coroners' offices, medical examiners, and mortuaries.

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
Request for Information (RFI)	05/06/10	75 FR 24835
RFI Comment Period End	08/04/10
Analyze Comments	12/30/10
Stakeholder Meetings	07/05/11	76 FR 39041
Initiate SBREFA	06/04/14
Complete SBREFA	12/22/14
NPRM	To Be Determined

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.

Agency Contact: William Perry, Director, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, FP Building, Room N-3718, Washington, DC 20210, Phone: [phone], Fax: [phone], Email: [e-mail].

RIN: 1218-AC46