1. Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board

Petition File No. 607

Section 1716.2  Residential Fall Protection regulatory changes to July 1, 2026.

Petition File No. 607

Kevin D. Bland, Esq

Amend Title 8 Section 1716.2 Residential-type Framing Activities, Wood and Light Gage Steel Frame Construction (Residential Fall Protection) to extend the effective date to July 1, 2026, or, alternatively to approve a new proposed addition to Title 8, section 1671.3 establishing a new Fall Protection Plan for interior work in residential framing. The Petitioners state that this request is urgently needed because the recently adopted regulatory changes are less safe than the current standards, especially for interior work, and there are no safe and acceptable options available to framing contractors to properly protect their workers. The Petitioners ask the Board to reverse course and allow the original 1716.2 regulation to continue as the California regulation, to allow them to meet with the new Fed OSHA administration personnel to ask for a written directive rescinding their requirement to abandon the original 1716.2 section.

The Petitioners believe that the recently approved regulatory changes were approved due to improper pressure from Fed OSHA and add that residential construction general contractors and framing contractors have been trying to find safe options for interior framing work but that none are available.