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On Oct. 19, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Thomas Galassi issued a memorandum on Interim Enforcement Guidance for the Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction Standard. The memo provides interim enforcement guidance to Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) for enforcing the standard, stating:

Effective Oct. 23, 2017, OSHA will fully enforce all appropriate provisions of the Silica in Construction Standard. This memorandum will serve as interim enforcement guidance while the standard's companion compliance directive is proceeding through the review process. It will expire when the compliance directive becomes effective and available to the field.

The Interim Enforcement Guidance memo follows the Sept. 20 memorandum, issued by Galassi, that announced a 30-day enforcement phase-in to offer compliance assistance to employers making good faith efforts to comply.

On Oct. 25, ABC National offered ABC members a webinar on the final silica rule, which will be archived in ABC’s Academy later this week. 

Silica remains a top priority for ABC National, and we continue to have conversations with the U.S. Department of Labor. We will update you with any new developments.

For more information, read Jackson Lewis P.C.'s analysis on what employers need to know about the final rule. 

Litigation Update:

ABC, along with a coalition of construction groups, is litigating the final rule. The case is in the U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit. 

Resources on the final silica rule:

• OSHA Resource Page
• Silica Final Rule
• Fact Sheet on Construction
• Small Entity Compliance Guide—Construction
• Frequently Asked Questions

Since the rule was proposed in 2013, ABC has voiced serious concerns with the rule and has taken the following actions:

• ABC’s 2014 comment letter on the proposed rule
• More than 600 ABC members joined ABC National in submitting comments
• CISC’s 2014 comment letter on the proposed rule
• ABC’s post-hearing comment letter 
• CISC’s post-hearing comment letter
• CISC’s hearing testimony 
• CISC Economic Feasibility Study
• CISC extension request for silica compliance