On Monday, key members of the House of Representatives sent a NLBMDA-backed letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Loren Sweatt requesting that the agency preserve the material delivery exemption in the 2010
Crane and Derricks in Construction rule and revoke its 2016 Letter of Interpretation (LOI) which
effectively repealed the material delivery exemption.
The
Congressional letter
was led by Representative Ron Wright (TX-6) who serves on House Education and Labor Committee and the Workforce Protections Subcommittee. It was also signed by Reps. Fred Keller (PA-12), Greg Gianforte (MT-AL), Scott Perry (PA-10), Tom Tiffany (WI-7), Jim Baird (IN-4) and Bob Gibbs (OH-7). The letter was supported by NLBMDA’s federated state and regional associations and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
“This is a big step towards a resolution to the concerning letter of interpretation (LOI) issued by OSHA in 2016. NLBMDA applauds Congress for hearing the concerns of our dealer members and requesting OSHA preserve the material delivery exemption as written in the
2010
Crane and Derricks in Construction rule
,” said Jonathan Paine, NLBMDA President & CEO. “OSHA’s 2016 LOI has fostered a great deal of uncertainty in the lumber and building material dealer industry and NLBMDA is encouraged that our dealers’ grassroots efforts have gotten the attention of Congress. NLBMDA thanks Representative Wright and all of the signers of the letter for their leadership on this issue and we are hopeful that OSHA will take the concerns of Congress seriously.”
Background:
In 2010, OSHA issued regulations regarding the use of cranes and derricks in construction, including certification and safety requirements. The regulations included an OSHA-approved exemption for building material delivery, citing that the small cranes used to deliver building materials do not pose the same risks as construction cranes and that the rules would unnecessarily burden the small businesses, builders, material supply dealers, and other parties who utilize them. Unfortunately, OSHA contradicted the final rule and essentially repealed the material delivery exemption in a 2016 Letter of Interpretation (LOI). The agency did not provide any reasoning for this change and failed to give small businesses and other stakeholders the opportunity to provide public comment, circumventing the traditional rulemaking process.
Since the LOI was issued in 2016, NLBMDA has engaged OSHA numerous times, including an in-person meeting with agency officials and a
follow-up letter
last year, but OSHA has yet to respond to the industry’s concerns. As a result, NLBMDA decided to work with Congress and the House Education and Labor Committee in an effort to get this issue resolved.
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