At OSHA, it’s a wrap; draft off for review
May 1, 2000 2 minutes read
At OSHA, it’s a wrap; draft off for review
Publication likely by early summer
Only one hurdle remains before the new federal TB standard becomes law. The draft of the new rule has been handed over for review to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), says Amanda Edens, MPH, project officer for the TB rule at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The draft rule’s stop at the OMB could take anywhere from one to three months, says Edens, because the office has up to 90 days to complete its task.
The draft rule is still on course for an early summer publication, she says, but the timetable depends on factors that are hard to predict. OMB "has a lot of other rules," she points out. "Frankly, I don’t how important this one is to them. Big rules like ergonomics tend to take a lot longer compared to a rule like TB."
Once OMB hands the draft back to OSHA, any suggested changes may be incorporated. Then it’s off for the final step — to Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman for a signature.
The new rule will become effective 30 days from whenever it’s published in the Federal Register. "In effect, that’s to give you 30 days to read it," Edens says. Even so, parts of the rule kick in on a graduated scale, as is explained in the rule section titled "Dates." The graduated sequence of events spelled out takes into account the fact that facilities need time to complete risk assessments, do skin testing, carry out training, and make structural changes to the building, if needed.
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