Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, FEDERAL REGULATIONS—OSHA seeks removal of compliance deadline on adding safety measures to fixed ladders over 24 feet, (Apr 3, 2026)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

The proposed change comes at the request of organizations representing fuel and petroleum companies.

After several industry membership organizations submitted a petition requesting that OSHA repeal or revise aspects of the agency’s 2016 Walking-Working Surfaces rule related to fixed ladders and personal fall arrest systems, OSHA has proposed to remove the November 18, 2036, compliance deadline that would have required employers to retrofit all fixed ladders taller than 24 feet with personal fall arrest systems or ladder safety systems. OSHA received the petition from member companies of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), American Chemistry Council (ACC), and American Petroleum Institute (API).

Under the proposal, which is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on April 6, existing fixed ladders that already have cages or wells could continue to be used until they are replaced or reach the end of their useful life, rather than employers being required to upgrade them by a fixed date. The proposal would not change current requirements for new fixed ladders or for ladders or ladder sections that are replaced; those would still be required to have personal fall arrest systems or ladder safety systems.

Repeal or revise? However, OSHA is also seeking comment on whether it should go further and repeal or revise the requirement that employers use personal fall arrest systems on all fixed ladders over 24 feet tall, instead permitting continued use of ladder cages or wells. OSHA preliminarily concludes that removing the retrofit deadline would provide employers with greater flexibility and avoid costly retrofits while maintaining worker safety protections, and it is asking the public for input on whether cages and wells provide equivalent safety outcomes compared to personal fall arrest or ladder safety systems.

Impact? In the 2016 final rule, OSHA estimated that the Walking-Working Surfaces standard would prevent 11.4 ladder-related fatalities and 2,161 ladder-related lost-workday injuries per year across all ladder types. OSHA states that it is unable to determine whether any of those avoided fatalities or injuries would be attributable to the limited subset of fixed ladders affected by this proposal during the period after 2036, but it expects any safety impact from removing the deadline to be small.

Comments are due 60 days after publication of the proposal. The docket number is OSHA-2025-0072.

News: FederalRegulations Safety AgencyNews