Narrative Opinion Summary
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was presented with a petition from the National Grain Feed Association, Inc. challenging an OSHA final standard on hazard communication, codified at 29 C.F.R. Sec. 1910.1200. The central legal issue was whether the petition was filed within the sixty-day limit stipulated by Section 6(f) of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 655(f)), as OSHA argued that the petition, filed sixty-one days after the standard's filing date, was untimely. OSHA contended that the date of issuance equated to the date of promulgation, referencing its regulation at 29 C.F.R. Sec. 1911.18(d). However, the court, citing the Second Circuit's ruling in United Technologies Corp. v. OSHA, concluded that an OSHA standard is promulgated on the date it is published in the Federal Register. The court clarified that, despite OSHA's regulatory authority, there was no explicit regulatory alignment between issuance and promulgation. As a result, the court denied OSHA's motion to dismiss, affirming the petition's timeliness based on the publication date, and effectively allowing the challenge to proceed.
Legal Issues Addressed
Definition of Promulgation for OSHA Standardssubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The court held that the promulgation of an OSHA standard occurs upon its Federal Register publication, contrary to OSHA's assertion that issuance and promulgation are synonymous.
Reasoning: The court determined that, based on the OSH Act's language and the common understanding of 'promulgate,' the promulgation of an OSHA standard occurs upon its Federal Register publication.
Regulatory Interpretation and Agency Authoritysubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: While acknowledging OSHA's authority to define terms within its regulations, the court found that OSHA had not explicitly equated issuance with promulgation within its regulatory framework.
Reasoning: While OSHA has the authority to define these terms, it has not explicitly equated issuance with promulgation.
Timeliness of Filing Petitions under OSH Act Section 6(f)subscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The court determined that the petition filed by the National Grain Feed Association, Inc. was timely because it adhered to the sixty-day limit from the date of the standard's publication in the Federal Register.
Reasoning: The court referenced a Second Circuit case, United Technologies Corp. v. OSHA, which concluded that an OSHA standard is promulgated on its publication date in the Federal Register.