OSHA Rule Changes Remove Medical Eval for Respirator Use
- The Sept. 4 proposed rule, OSHA Standards Improvement Project 2025, includes updating medical evaluation provisions currently required by the Respiratory Protection Standard, according to Christopher Rubey of Barnes & Thornburg LLP.
- Under the proposed rule, OSHA would remove medical evaluation requirements for employees required to use filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) or loose-fitting powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs).
- All other required provisions (such as hazard assessment, selection of respiratory protection equipment, fit testing, training/education, and maintenance) continue to apply under this proposal.
- This regulation is only proposed, not final, and remains subject to public comment and potential changes.
- “Still, revisions that ease compliance obligations for employers while maintaining safe workplaces for employees would be a welcome development,” Rubey said.
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- Critics are warning that eliminating NIOSH, described as a “little-known but vital agency” will cost not only jobs, but lives.
- The latest episode of “Wall St. Week” claims that the agency was once the “backbone of U.S. workplace safety research.”
- However, the Trump Administration’s funding cuts are leading to NIOSH’s programs being dismantled, leaving gaps in mining rescue readiness, firefighter safety, and protections against chronic occupational disease.
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