[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 99 (Monday, May 24, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27941-27942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13018]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1910

[Docket No. S-042]
RIN 1218-AB77


Employer Payment For Personal Protective Equipment

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. 
Department of Labor.

ACTION: Rescheduling of informal public hearing; extension of comment 
period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: OSHA is rescheduling the informal public hearing on its 
proposed rule on employer payment for personal protective equipment. 
The hearing, which had been scheduled for June 22 has been rescheduled 
for August 10, 1999. The Agency is also extending the deadline for 
written comments on the proposed rule.

DATES: Informal public hearing. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 
9:30 a.m. on August 10, 1999.
    Notices of intention to appear, testimony, and documentary 
evidence. Notices of intention to appear at the informal public hearing 
must be postmarked by July 16, 1999. If you will be requesting more 
than 10 minutes for your presentation, or if you will be submitting 
documentary evidence at the hearing, you must submit the full text of 
your testimony and all documentary evidence to the Docket Office, 
postmarked by July 23, 1999.
    Written Comments. Written comments on the proposed rule must be 
postmarked by July 23, 1999. If you submit comments electronically 
through OSHA's internet site, you must transmit those comments by July 
23, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Informal public hearing. The hearing will be held in the 
auditorium of the U.S. Department of Labor (Frances Perkins Building), 
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.
    Comments, Testimony, and Documentary Evidence. Submit four copies 
of written comments, notices of intention to appear at the informal 
public hearing, testimony, and documentary evidence to the OSHA Docket 
Office, Docket S-042, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210. (Telephone: (202) 693-
2350) Please identify the document at the top of the first page as 
either a comment, notice of intention to appear, testimony, or 
documentary evidence. If your written comments are 10 pages or less, 
you may fax them to the Docket Office, but you must then submit a hard 
copy to the Docket Office postmarked within two days. The OSHA Docket 
Office fax number is (202) 693-1648.
    You may also submit comments electronically through OSHA's Internet 
site. The URL of that site is as follows: http://www.osha-slc.gov/e-
comments/e-comments-ppe.html. Please be aware that you may not attach 
materials such as studies or journal articles to your electronic 
comments. If you wish to include such materials, you must submit them 
separately in quadruplicate to the Docket Office at the address listed 
above. When submitting such materials to the Docket Office, you must 
clearly identify your electronic comments by name, date, and subject, 
so that we can attach them to your electronic comments.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On March 31, 1999, OSHA published a proposed rule (64 FR 15402) 
that would require employers to pay for all required personal 
protective equipment, with limited exceptions for some types of 
footwear and eyewear. We provided a written comment period through June 
14, 1999, and scheduled an informal public hearing to begin on June 22, 
1999.
    Due to a scheduling conflict, we are rescheduling the June 22 
public hearing. The hearing is now scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on 
August 10, 1999, in the auditorium of the Department of Labor (Frances 
Perkins Building), 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 
20210. We are also extending the written comment period, which will now 
run through July 23, 1999.

II. PPE Survey

    As discussed in the preamble of the March 31, 1999, proposed rule 
for Employer Payment for Personal Protective Equipment (64 FR 15421), 
OSHA is conducting a nationwide telephone survey to obtain more 
accurate data on current patterns of PPE payment and usage. We now 
expect the survey to be completed within the next several weeks. When 
we have completed the survey, we will place the survey results in the 
rulemaking record (Docket S-042). We will also publish a Federal 
Register notice to announce that the survey is available and to invite 
additional public comment on the results.

III. Public Participation

Written Comments

    Interested parties are invited to submit written data, views, and 
comments with respect to this proposal. If you wish to file written 
comments on the proposed PPE Payment rule, you must submit them in one 
of the following forms: (1) Hard copy, in quadruplicate; or (2) an 
original (hard copy) with 1 disk (3\1/2\'' or 5\1/4\'') in WordPerfect 
5.0, 5.1, 6.0, 8.0, or ASCII, to the Docket Office, Docket No. S-042, 
Room N2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. N.W., 
Washington, DC 20210.
    You may also submit written comments electronically, using OSHA's 
website: http://www.osha-slc.gov/e-comments/e-comments-ppe.html. 
However, please be aware that you cannot attach materials such as 
studies or journal articles to your electronic comment. If you wish to 
submit such materials to supplement your electronic comment, you must 
submit them separately (either in quadruplicate or in single copy plus 
diskette) to the Docket Office at the address noted above. You must 
clearly identify these materials by including your name and the date 
and subject of your electronic comments, so that we can attach the 
materials to your comments.
    All comments, views, data, and arguments that we receive within the 
specific comment period will become part of the record and will be 
available for public inspection and copying at the above Docket Office 
address.

Notices of Intention to Appear at the Informal Hearing

    The informal public hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. on August 10, 
1999, in the auditorium of the Frances Perkins Building, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. We 
will continue the hearing

[[Page 27942]]

through August 20, 1999, depending on the number of public 
participants.
    If you wish to participate in the hearing, you must file four 
copies of a notice of intention to appear. This notice must be 
postmarked on or before July 16, 1999. Your notice of intention to 
appear, which will be available for inspection and copying at the OSHA 
Docket Office (Room N2625), must contain the following information:
    1. The name, address, and telephone number of each person to 
appear;
    2. The capacity in which the person will appear;
    3. The approximate amount of time required for the presentation;
    4. The issues that will be addressed;
    5. A brief statement of the position that will be taken with 
respect to each issue; and,
    6. Whether the party intends to submit documentary evidence and, if 
so, a brief summary of that evidence.
    Mail the notice of intention to appear to: Docket Office, Docket S-
042, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20210. The telephone number of the Docket Office is 
(202) 693-2350.
    You may also transmit your notice of intention to appear by 
facsimile to (202) 693-1648 (Attention: Docket S-042), by July 16, 
1999, provided that you send an original and 3 copies of the notice to 
the Docket Office postmarked no more than 3 days later.

Filing of Testimony and Evidence Before the Hearing

    If you request more than 10 minutes for your presentation at the 
hearing, or if you will be submitting documentary evidence, you must 
provide us with four copies of the complete text of the testimony and 
documentary evidence. One copy must not be stapled or bound and must be 
suitable for copying. You must provide the Docket Office with these 
materials postmarked no later than July 23, 1999.
    We will review all testimony and evidence in light of the amount of 
time requested in the notice of intention to appear. If the information 
contained in a submission does not justify the amount of time 
requested, we will allocate a more appropriate amount of time and 
notify the participant of that fact prior to the informal public 
hearing.
    If you do not submit your materials in accordance with the schedule 
and other requirements, we may limit your presentation to 10 minutes. 
We may also ask you to return for questioning at a later time.
    Any party who has not filed a notice of intention to appear may be 
allowed to testify for no more than 10 minutes as time permits, at the 
discretion of the Administrative Law Judge, but will not be allowed to 
question witnesses.
    Notices of intention to appear, testimony, and evidence will be 
available for copying at the Docket Office at the address noted above.

Conduct and Nature of the Hearing

    The hearing on the PPE Payment proposal will be conducted under 
OSHA's standards-setting procedures in 29 CFR part 1911. It should be 
noted that under section 1911.4, the Assistant Secretary may also 
implement alternative procedures to expedite the proceedings or for 
other good cause, upon reasonable notice.
    The hearing will be presided over by an Administrative Law Judge 
(ALJ) who makes no decision or recommendation on the merits of OSHA's 
proposal. The ALJ's responsibility is to ensure that the hearing 
proceeds at a reasonable pace and in an orderly manner. The ALJ, 
therefore, will have all of the powers necessary and appropriate to 
conduct a full and fair informal hearing as provided in 29 CFR part 
1911, including the powers:
    1. To regulate the course of the proceedings;
    2. To dispose of procedural requests, objections, and comparable 
matters;
    3. To confine the presentations to the matters pertinent to the 
issues raised;
    4. To regulate the conduct of those present at the hearing by 
appropriate means;
    5. At the Judge's discretion, to question and permit the 
questioning of any witness and to limit the time for questioning; and,
    6. At the Judge's discretion, to keep the record open for a 
reasonable, stated time (known as the post-hearing comment period) to 
receive written information and additional data, views, and arguments 
from any person who has partcipated in the oral proceedings.
    An OSHA standards hearing provides interested persons with an 
opportunity to make effective oral presentations, without procedural 
restraints that unnecessarily impede or protract the rulemaking 
process. The hearing is primarily for information gathering and 
clarification. It is an informal administrative proceeding, rather than 
an adjudication. The technical rules of evidence, for example, do not 
apply. The regulations that govern OSHA hearings, combined with the 
pre-hearing guidelines that the ALJ will issue for this hearing, will 
ensure fairness and due process, and will enable OSHA to develop a 
clear, accurate, and complete record. Questions of relevance, 
procedure, and participation generally will be decided in favor of the 
most effective development of the record.

    Signed at Washington, D.C., this 17th day of May 1999.
Charles N. Jeffress,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 99-13018 Filed 5-21-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-M