Weekly Safety Brief

There was no 2026 inflation adjustment — the federal maximums are frozen at 2025 amounts. Serious and other-than-serious violations top out at $16,550 each; willful or repeat violations reach $165,514 each. Per-instance penalties are the discretionary egregious (EEEP) exception, not the default.

OSHA's silica NEP (Directive CPL 03-00-023, in force since February 2020) directs targeted inspections at operations that cut, grind, drill, or demolish silica-containing materials — concrete, stone, and masonry work in particular. It is active enforcement today, not a new or expanded program.

OSHA proposed its heat standard on August 30, 2024 (89 FR 70698). The informal public hearing ran June 16 to July 2, 2025, and post-hearing comments closed October 30, 2025 (90 FR 46110). The rule is not final, so there is no compliance deadline yet, but OSHA updated its heat National Emphasis Program on April 10, 2026 and inspects heat hazards now, so a written heat illness prevention plan is time well spent.

On April 6, 2026, OSHA proposed removing the deadline in 29 CFR 1910.28(b)(9)(i)(D) by which every fixed ladder extending more than 24 feet above a lower level must have a personal fall arrest system or a ladder safety system, November 18, 2036, and asked whether to repeal that requirement and allow ladder cages or wells instead (91 FR 17165). Comments closed June 5, 2026, and virtual informal hearings on this and other proposals began August 19, 2026 (91 FR 33131). Until a final rule is published, the deadline stands.

On July 1, 2025, OSHA proposed rescinding the construction illumination requirements in 29 CFR 1926.26 and 1926.56, including the minimum foot-candle table, Table D-3 (90 FR 28366); the comment period was later extended (90 FR 40553). No final rule has been published, and both sections are still in the Code of Federal Regulations, so they remain in force.

OSHA's 2024 Hazard Communication update (aligned to GHS Revision 7) phases in by role. For substances, employers must, as necessary, update any alternative workplace labeling used under (f)(6), the written program, and training for newly identified hazards by November 20, 2026; for mixtures the employer deadline is May 19, 2028. Until your date you may comply with the 2012 HCS, the 2024 HCS, or both.

In 2023, 1,055 workers in construction and extraction occupations were killed on the job — 20.0% of all U.S. workplace fatalities, one of the largest totals of any occupational group. Falls, slips, and trips were the leading cause (BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries).

As HVAC systems move from R-410A to A2L refrigerants (R-454B, R-32), contractors are handling chemicals with a mild-flammability hazard the old blends didn't carry. That means updated Safety Data Sheets, labels, and training under HazCom — verify your SDS library reflects the products actually on your trucks.