[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 128 (Thursday, July 8, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36073-36074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14463]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 128 / Thursday, July 8, 2021 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 36073]]



DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1910

[Docket No. OSHA-2019-0001]
RIN 1218-AC93


Hazard Communication Standard

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Proposed rule: Extension of period to submit a notice of intent 
to appear (NOITA) at informal hearing.

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SUMMARY: The period for submitting a NOITA is being extended by 14 days 
from the date of publication of this document to allow stakeholders 
interested in attending the informal public hearing on the proposed 
rule ``Hazard Communication Standard'' additional time to prepare their 
submissions.

DATES: NOITAs must be submitted July 22, 2021 in Docket Number OSHA-
2019-0001.
    Informal public hearing: OSHA has scheduled an informal public 
hearing on the proposed rule to be held virtually via WebEx, beginning 
September 21, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., ET. If necessary, the hearing will 
continue from 9:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., ET, on subsequent days. 
Additional information on how to access the informal hearing will be 
posted when available at https://www.osha.gov/hazcom/rulemaking.

ADDRESSES: 
    Notices of Intent to Appear: Notices of intent to appear at the 
hearing, along with any submissions and attachments, should be 
submitted electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, which is the 
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for making 
electronic submissions. After accessing ``all documents and comments'' 
in the docket (Docket No. OSHA-2019-0001), check the ``proposed rule'' 
box in the column headed ``Document Type,'' find the document posted on 
the date of publication of this document, and click the ``Comment Now'' 
link. When uploading multiple attachments to www.regulations.gov, 
please number all of your attachments because www.regulations.gov will 
not automatically number the attachments. This will be very useful in 
identifying all attachments in the preamble. For example, Attachment 
1_title of your document, Attachment 2_title of your document, 
Attachment 3_title of your document. For assistance with commenting 
and uploading documents, please see the Frequently Asked Questions on 
regulations.gov.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency's name and 
the docket number for this rulemaking (Docket No. OSHA-2019-0001). All 
comments, including any personal information you provide, are placed in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
https://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting information they do not want made available to the public, 
or submitting materials that contain personal information (either about 
themselves or others), such as Social Security numbers and birthdates.
    Docket: To read or download comments, notices of intent to appear, 
and other materials submitted in the docket, go to Docket No. OSHA-
2019-0001 at https://www.regulations.gov. All comments and submissions 
are listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index; however, some 
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to 
read or download through that website. All comments and submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection through 
the OSHA Docket Office.\1\ Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627) for information about materials not 
available through the website, and for assistance in using the internet 
to locate docket submissions.
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    \1\ Documents submitted to the docket by OSHA or stakeholders 
are assigned document identification numbers (Document ID) for easy 
identification and retrieval. The full Document ID is the docket 
number plus a unique four-digit code. OSHA is identifying supporting 
information in this document by author name, publication year, and 
the last four digits of the Document ID.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    For press inquiries: Contact Frank Meilinger, Director, Office of 
Communications, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor; telephone (202) 693-1999; email: 
[email protected].
    For general information and technical inquiries: Contact Maureen 
Ruskin, Deputy Director, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of 
Labor; telephone (202) 693-1873; email: ruskin.[email protected].
    For hearing inquiries: Contact Janet Carter, Directorate of 
Standards and Guidance, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 
U.S. Department of Labor; telephone (202) 693-2370; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 16, 2021, OSHA published a 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the Hazard Communication 
Standard (HCS) to align with the United Nations' Globally Harmonized 
System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) Revision 7, 
to address specific issues that have arisen since OSHA last updated the 
HCS in 2012, and to provide better alignment with other U.S. agencies 
and international trading partners, without lowering the overall 
protections of the standard. The public comment period for this NPRM 
closed May 19, 2021, 92 days after publication of the NPRM.
    On May 20, 2021, OSHA issued a notice of informal hearing on the 
proposed rule. The deadline to submit a NOITA was June 18, 2021. 
However, OSHA has received a request to extend the period due, in part, 
to pandemic-related activities. OSHA agrees to an extension and 
believes a 14-day extension is sufficient and appropriate. Therefore, 
the deadline for submitting a NOITA is extended to July 22, 2021.

Notice of Intent To Appear at the Hearing

    Interested persons who intend to participate in and provide oral 
testimony or documentary evidence at the hearing must file a written 
notice of intent to appear prior to the hearing. To testify or question 
witnesses at the hearing, interested persons must electronically submit 
their notice by July 22, 2021. The notice must provide the following 
information:

[[Page 36074]]

    [cir] Name, address, email address, and telephone number of each 
individual who will give oral testimony;
    [cir] Name of the establishment or organization each individual 
represents, if any;
    [cir] Occupational title and position of each individual 
testifying;
    [cir] Approximate amount of time required for each individual's 
testimony;
    [cir] A brief statement of the position each individual will take 
with respect to the issues raised by the proposed rule; and
    [cir] A brief summary of documentary evidence each individual 
intends to present.
    [cir] Individuals who request more than 10 minutes to present their 
oral testimony at the hearing or who will submit documentary evidence 
at the hearing must submit the full text of their testimony and all 
documentary evidence no later than August 21, 2021.
    The agency will review each submission and determine if the 
information it contains warrants the amount of time the individual 
requested for the presentation. If OSHA believes the requested time is 
excessive, the agency will allocate an appropriate amount of time for 
the presentation. The agency also may limit to 10 minutes the 
presentation of any participant who fails to comply substantially with 
these procedural requirements, and may request that the participant 
return for questioning at a later time. Before the hearing, OSHA will 
notify participants of the time the agency will allow for their 
presentation and, if less than requested, the reasons for its decision. 
In addition, before the hearing, OSHA will provide the hearing 
procedures and hearing schedule to each participant who filed a notice 
of intention to appear. OSHA emphasizes that the hearing is open to the 
public; however, only individuals who file a notice of intention to 
appear may question witnesses and participate fully at the hearing. If 
time permits, and at the discretion of the ALJ, an individual who did 
not file a notice of intention to appear may be allowed to testify at 
the hearing, but for no more than 10 minutes.

Authority and Signature

    This document was prepared under the direction of James S. 
Frederick, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety 
and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20210. It is issued under the authority of sections 4, 
6, and 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 
653, 655, 657); 5 U.S.C. 553; section 304, Clean Air Act Amendments of 
1990 (Pub. L. 101-549, reprinted at 29 U.S.C.A. 655 Note); section 41, 
Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 941); section 
107, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (40 U.S.C. 3704); 
section 1031, Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 
4853); section 126, Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 
1986, as amended (reprinted at 29 U.S.C.A. 655 Note); Secretary of 
Labor's Order No. 8-2020 (85 FR 58383-94); and 29 CFR part 1911.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on June 30, 2021.
James S. Frederick,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2021-14463 Filed 7-7-21; 8:45 am]
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