The hazards that make headlines for having "no OSHA standard" — heat, workplace violence, infectious disease — are not unregulated by oversight. They are unregulated by arithmetic. Every one of them is somewhere in a rulemaking pipeline that, by the Government Accountability Office's own count, has averaged more than seven years per standard and stretched as long as nineteen. That is the overlooked fact about American workplace safety: the gap between a recognized hazard and a rule that governs it is measured in presidential terms, not budget cycles. This analysis maps what is actually in OSHA's pipeline in 2026, what stage each rule has reached, and why "no standard yet" is less a policy choice than the default state of a process built for rigor rather than speed.
At a glance: OSHA standards have historically taken 15 months to 19 years, averaging more than 7 years (GAO review of 58 standards, 1981–2010). Major rules now in the pipeline: Heat (proposed Aug 2024, hearing 2025, still not final), Workplace Violence in Healthcare (early development), Emergency Response (updating the 1980 rule), and Infectious Diseases (healthcare). OSHA's major pending standards — heat, workplace violence, and infectious disease — sit in a rulemaking pipeline that has historically averaged more than seven years per standard, according to the Government Accountability Office.
The seven-year average
Start with the number that governs everything else. In 2012 the GAO examined 58 significant health and safety standards OSHA issued between 1981 and 2010 and measured how long each took. The range was enormous — some moved in a little over a year, others took nearly two decades — but the average was telling.
How long OSHA takes to issue a standard (GAO-12-330, 58 standards, 1981–2010)
Source: U.S. GAO, "Workplace Safety and Health: Multiple Challenges Lengthen OSHA's Standard Setting" (GAO-12-330). The pace has not meaningfully accelerated since.
Seven years is not a scandal so much as a design. Each stage — establishing significant risk, proving feasibility, convening small-business panels, answering every comment, defending the rule in court — exists to make the standard durable and defensible. But the cumulative effect is that a hazard identified today will, in the normal course, be governed by a specific rule sometime in the next decade, if at all. For workers exposed now, the pipeline's length is the policy.
What's in the pipeline in 2026
Here is the queue as it stands, and it is a roster of exactly the hazards that dominate the injury and illness data. Each row is a rule that does not yet exist as an enforceable standard.
| Proposed standard | Stage (2026) | Who it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Heat Injury & Illness Prevention | Proposed (NPRM Aug 2024); hearing held 2025; post-hearing | Nearly all industries — general industry, construction, maritime, agriculture |
| Workplace Violence in Healthcare & Social Assistance | Early development; SBREFA panel concluded May 2023 | Healthcare and social-assistance employers |
| Emergency Response | Proposed; updates the 1980 Fire Brigades standard | Firefighters, EMS, technical search & rescue |
| Infectious Diseases | Pre-proposal; RFI and SBREFA complete, NPRM in development | Healthcare and related high-exposure settings |
Source: OSHA Unified Agenda and rulemaking pages, 2026. Stages simplified. Apart from the 1980 fire brigades standard (29 CFR 1910.156) and the bloodborne pathogens standard (29 CFR 1910.1030), these hazards are currently addressed, if at all, under the General Duty Clause.
The pattern is unmistakable: the pipeline is a mirror of the data. Heat is a documented and rising killer; workplace violence killed 733 workers in 2024 — the fourth-ranked event category, and the only one in the top five with no OSHA standard behind it; infectious disease drove a national emergency; and emergency responders face hazards a 1980 rule never imagined. These are not fringe concerns awaiting justification — they are among the most consequential hazards in the country, still working their way through a process measured in years.
The stages, and where the years go
To see why the queue moves slowly, follow a rule through the gauntlet. Each step is required, and each consumes time.
The path from hazard to enforceable standard
- 1. RFI / advance notice. OSHA gathers information and signals intent.
- 2. SBREFA panel. A small-business review, required when impact is significant, that itself takes many months.
- 3. NPRM (proposed rule). The draft standard is published for comment — the first time the actual requirements appear.
- 4. Comment period & public hearing. Often months of testimony and tens of thousands of comments, each of which must be addressed.
- 5. Final rule. OSHA must prove significant risk and technological and economic feasibility to survive review.
- 6. Litigation. Major standards are almost always challenged in court, which can delay or reshape them after issuance.
Source: OSHA rulemaking process. The heat rule reached stage 4 in 2025; most pipeline rules are earlier.
The heat rule is a live demonstration. Its proposed text, which would add 29 CFR 1910.148 and, for construction, 29 CFR 1926.67, appeared in August 2024; the informal public hearing ran from June 16 to July 2, 2025; and as of 2026 it remains in the post-hearing stage, not yet final — already approaching two years in the proposal phase alone, with the feasibility record and the near-inevitable court challenge still ahead. Meanwhile OSHA does what it can with the tools it already has: a heat-focused National Emphasis Program (in place since 2022) and General Duty Clause citations.
What the pipeline means for employers
The instinct is to treat "no standard yet" as "no obligation yet." The data says that is a mistake on two counts.
- The General Duty Clause is already live. OSHA cites heat, ergonomic, and workplace-violence hazards today, before any specific rule, whenever the hazard is recognized and abatable. The General Duty Clause, 29 U.S.C. 654(a)(1), does not wait for the pipeline, and a serious citation under it can reach $16,550 (29 CFR 1903.15(d)(3)).
- The proposed rule is a preview, not a surprise. A published NPRM tells you almost exactly what the final standard will require. Building to it now — a written program (for heat, proposed 29 CFR 1910.148, paragraph (c)), a hazard assessment, controls, training, records — turns the eventual deadline into a formality and reduces today's citation risk at the same time.
The employers who read the pipeline correctly do not wait for the rule; they treat the proposal as the roadmap and get there first. For hazards like heat and musculoskeletal disorders — where the science is settled and only the rule is missing — that is simply good management.
Get ahead of the rule that's coming
A proposed standard is a preview of your future compliance. HazComFast helps you assess the hazard, build the plan, and document the program now — so the next rule is a formality, not a scramble, and today's General Duty exposure is already covered.
What applies while the rules wait
A pending standard leaves the rules already in force untouched:
| Hazard | Rule in force today | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Heat | Potable drinking water in all places of employment | 29 CFR 1910.141(b)(1)(i) |
| Heat, construction | An adequate supply of potable water | 29 CFR 1926.51(a)(1) |
| Workplace violence | An assault injury that meets the general recording criteria goes on the 300 Log | 29 CFR 1904.7(a) |
| Emergency response | Organization, training, and protective equipment for fire brigades an employer establishes | 29 CFR 1910.156(a)(1) |
| Infectious disease, bloodborne | All occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials | 29 CFR 1910.1030(a) |
| Infectious disease, airborne | A respirator provided when necessary to protect the employee's health | 29 CFR 1910.134(a)(2) |
| Any of them | Report a work-related death within 8 hours, a hospitalization within 24 | 29 CFR 1904.39(a)(1)-(2) |
| Any of them | General Duty Clause citations, up to $16,550 per serious violation | 29 CFR 1903.15(d)(3) |
Plan for the hazards still waiting for a rule
OSHA's regulatory pipeline is where the country's most serious unaddressed hazards go to wait. Heat, workplace violence, infectious disease, and emergency response are all in it, and the history says they will stay there for years — the average standard has taken more than seven, the slowest nineteen. That length is the real reason so many hazards seem "unregulated": not because OSHA disagrees they are dangerous, but because the process that turns danger into a rule is deliberately, structurally slow. The employers who understand this stop waiting for the rule and start building to the proposal — because on the data, the proposal is the rule, just several years early.
Related: The Data Behind America's First Heat Standard · The #1 Injury With No OSHA Rule (MSDs) · Workplace Violence: A Fatal Hazard With No OSHA Rule · The General Duty Clause · OSHA Data & Research hub
Sources & verification (verified 2026-07-13): Rulemaking-duration figures from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, "Workplace Safety and Health: Multiple Challenges Lengthen OSHA's Standard Setting" (GAO-12-330, 2012): across 58 significant standards issued 1981–2010, the process ranged from 15 months to 19 years and averaged more than 7 years. Pipeline status from OSHA's Unified Agenda and rulemaking pages (2026): Heat Injury and Illness Prevention (RIN 1218-AD39) — NPRM published August 30, 2024, informal public hearing June 16–July 2, 2025, post-hearing stage; Prevention of Workplace Violence in Healthcare and Social Assistance (RIN 1218-AD08) — SBREFA panel concluded May 1, 2023, early development; Emergency Response — proposed update to the 1980 Fire Brigades standard, expanding scope to EMS and technical rescue; Infectious Diseases (RIN 1218-AC46) — RFI and SBREFA complete, NPRM in development for healthcare. The heat National Emphasis Program has been in place since 2022. Rulemaking stages per OSHA's published process. Stages are simplified for readability; consult the Unified Agenda for the current status of any rule. Not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What major OSHA standards are currently in development?
As of 2026, OSHA's most significant pending rules include a Heat Injury and Illness Prevention standard (proposed in 2024, applying to nearly all industries), a Prevention of Workplace Violence in Healthcare and Social Assistance standard (early development), an updated Emergency Response standard to replace the 1980 Fire Brigades rule, and an Infectious Diseases standard for healthcare. Heat, workplace violence, and most infectious-disease exposures have no dedicated standard and are enforced, if at all, under the General Duty Clause (29 U.S.C. 654(a)(1)); emergency response is covered today by the 1980 fire brigades standard, 29 CFR 1910.156, and exposure to blood by the bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030.
How long does it take OSHA to issue a new safety standard?
Historically, a very long time. A Government Accountability Office review (GAO-12-330) of 58 significant OSHA standards issued between 1981 and 2010 found the process took from 15 months to 19 years, and averaged more than 7 years. The heat rule illustrates the pace: proposed in August 2024, it was still not final well into 2026. When people say a hazard 'has no OSHA standard,' the practical reality is that it will not have one for years even after rulemaking begins. The statute sets the steps: a published proposal, a comment period, a public hearing on request, and then a final rule (29 U.S.C. 655(b)).
What are the stages of OSHA rulemaking?
In broad strokes: a Request for Information or advance notice; a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBREFA) panel for rules with significant small-business impact; a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that publishes the draft standard; a public comment period and often an informal public hearing; analysis of the record; a Final Rule; and, very frequently, litigation that can delay or reshape the standard after it issues. Each stage is measured in months to years, which is why the total runs to seven-plus. The proposal, comment, hearing, and final-rule steps come from section 6(b) of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. 655(b)); the small-business panel from 5 U.S.C. 609(b); and a challenge can be filed in a federal court of appeals before the 60th day after the standard is promulgated (29 U.S.C. 655(f)).
Is there a federal heat standard yet?
Not yet. OSHA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings in August 2024, and held an informal public hearing from June 16 to July 2, 2025. As of 2026 the rule is still in the post-hearing stage, not final. In the meantime OSHA addresses heat through a National Emphasis Program (in place since 2022) and the General Duty Clause (29 U.S.C. 654(a)(1)) — enforcement tools, not a specific standard. The proposal would add 29 CFR 1910.148 and, for construction, 29 CFR 1926.67.
Why does OSHA rulemaking take so long?
Because the Occupational Safety and Health Act and later statutes require OSHA to build an extensive record: demonstrate significant risk, show the standard is technologically and economically feasible, convene small-business panels, respond to every substantive comment, and survive near-certain court challenge. Each requirement adds rigor and time. The result, documented by GAO, is a process that protects due process and feasibility at the cost of speed — averaging more than seven years per standard. For health standards, section 6(b)(5) of the Act demands the standard that most adequately assures, to the extent feasible, that no employee suffers material impairment of health (29 U.S.C. 655(b)(5)).
What should employers do about hazards that don't have a standard yet?
Treat them as recognized hazards now. OSHA can and does cite heat, workplace violence, and ergonomic hazards under the General Duty Clause before any specific standard exists, and the eventual standard rarely asks for anything a good program isn't already doing — hazard assessment, controls, training, and records. Employers who build to the proposed requirements get ahead of both the citation risk today and the compliance deadline later. A serious General Duty Clause citation can already reach $16,550 per violation (29 CFR 1903.15(d)(3)).
OSHA figures and citations here come from our regulatory source-of-truth modules, last checked against the eCFR, OSHA.gov, and the Federal Register on October 5, 2026. Last reviewed October 6, 2026.
About This Article
Published by: HazComFast
Published: July 13, 2026
Last Updated: October 6, 2026
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.