The Safety Newsletter

HazCom Deadline for Employers Is Nov. 20

Review updated safety data sheets and make any necessary changes to workplace labels, your program, and employee training.

Friday, Nov. 20, is the deadline for employers to make required updates under OSHA’s revised Hazard Communication Standard for substances, or individual chemicals. Mixtures have later deadlines.

Hazard Communication was the second most-cited standard on OSHA’s preliminary list for fiscal year 2026, with 1,961 violations.

OSHA updated the standard in May 2024 to align it more closely with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for classifying and labeling chemicals. OSHA revised how certain health and physical hazards are classified. It also added labeling rules for small containers and changed some requirements for safety data sheets (SDSs).

The deadlines are staggered. Chemical manufacturers, importers and distributors had until May 19 to bring their labels and SDSs for substances up to date. Employers that use those chemicals have until Nov. 20 to act on the changes.

OSHA originally set the deadlines for January and July but extended them by four months in January 2026 to allow more time to publish compliance guidance. Read more ›

What employers have to do. For newly identified hazards, employers must make the following updates, as necessary.

• Update workplace labels to communicate the new hazards.
• Revise the written hazard communication program to address the new hazards.
• Provide employees with training on the new hazards.

If no new hazards are identified, these additional updates may not be required.

Start with the safety data sheets. For each chemical you use, compare the supplier’s current SDS with the one on file. Check Section 2, Hazard(s) identification, for a new or changed hazard. If a supplier hasn’t sent an updated SDS, ask for the current version.

If you identify a new hazard, make any necessary changes to workplace labels and your written program, and train affected employees by Nov. 20.

Mixtures follow later. Manufacturers have until Nov. 19, 2027, and employers have until May 19, 2028. Learn more ›

Recent safety news, briefly.

The Secret Service released a new workplace violence prevention guide. Published Oct. 21, the guide examines 50 mass attacks at workplaces from 2016 to 2020 that left 119 people dead and 128 injured. More than three-quarters of the attackers had displayed behavior that raised concerns among others. The guide outlines eight steps for establishing a workplace violence prevention program, including a team to assess potential threats and a process for employees to report concerning behavior. Read more ›

OSHA formed a new alliance focused on preventing serious injuries and fatalities. The Sept. 29 agreement brings together OSHA, the National Safety Council, the American Society of Safety Professionals, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, and the University of Colorado Boulder’s Construction Safety Research Alliance. The organizations will develop training and other resources to help employers identify hazards that could lead to life-altering injuries or deaths. The alliance will run for two years. Read more ›

OSHA ordered Union Pacific to compensate a railroad worker fired after a lightning safety stand-down. The North Little Rock yardman raised concerns about nearby lightning, cited OSHA and NOAA safety guidelines, and refused to work until the storm passed. Union Pacific removed him from service within minutes and fired him in May 2024. OSHA determined that the railroad violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act and ordered at least $304,869 in back pay, benefits, and damages. Union Pacific has challenged the order and requested a hearing, so the decision is not final. Read more ›

Young Worker Killed in a 12-Foot Trench Collapse

OSHA cited the contractor for six violations, including a willful failure to provide cave-in protection.

A young worker was killed when a trench wall collapsed during storm sewer installation in Chambersburg, Pa. The crew was working 12 feet below ground when soil from the trench wall broke loose and buried the worker. OSHA opened its investigation on April 2. Read more ›

OSHA cited the excavation contractor for one willful violation involving inadequate cave-in protection. Two repeat violations involved missing daily trench inspections and failing to remove workers from hazardous conditions. Three serious violations involved inadequate hazard training, unsafe exit access, and materials that could fall or roll into the excavation. OSHA proposed $254,884 in penalties.

Lessons learned. Before anyone enters a trench, check these five safety requirements.

• Trenches 5 feet deep or more need cave-in protection, such as sloping, shoring, or a trench box, unless excavated entirely in stable rock. Shallower trenches may also need protection.
• A competent person must inspect the trench before work begins each day, as needed throughout the shift, and after rainstorms or other events that increase hazards.
• In trenches 4 feet deep or more, workers must have a safe exit within 25 feet of lateral travel.
• Keep spoil piles and materials at least 2 feet from the edge, or use suitable measures to prevent them from falling or rolling into the trench.
• If an inspection identifies hazardous conditions, workers must be removed from the affected area until the hazards are corrected.

Dates to know in the weeks ahead.

Nov. 18 · BLS releases 2025 injury and illness data. The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses will be released at 10 a.m. Eastern. Use the data to compare injury and illness rates across industries. BLS ›

Nov. 19 · Great American Smokeout. The American Cancer Society holds this event each November to encourage people to quit smoking. Share resources with employees who want help quitting. ACS ›

Nov. 26 · Thanksgiving travel. From 2020 to 2024, 910 people died in drunk-driving crashes during Thanksgiving holiday periods, according to NHTSA. Remind employees traveling for work or the holiday to plan a sober ride. NHTSA ›

Cold stress season. OSHA has no specific standard for working in the cold, but employers must protect workers from recognized cold stress hazards. Schedule frequent short breaks in warm, dry areas, and have employees work in pairs. OSHA ›

Who Checks on the Supervisor? Mental Health Risk on the Jobsite

The supervisor is often the one person on a site nobody checks on.

By Martha Fernandez, LCSW, Co-Founder, CEREVITY Health, Inc.

Most jobsite mental health efforts are aimed at the crew. Toolbox talks, posters, hotline stickers on hard hats. That work matters. But there is one person on almost every site that nobody checks on: the supervisor.

The stakes in this industry are high. OSHA states that the suicide rate for construction workers is four times higher than in the general population, and points to seasonal work, demanding schedules and injuries as stressors. CDC’s December 2023 report on suicide rates by industry and occupation found a 2021 rate of 65.6 per 100,000 among men in construction and extraction occupations, compared with 32.0 among all working men. Read more ›

Supervisors carry that same load plus their own. They answer for schedule, budget, safety and people. They absorb pressure from the owner above and complaints from the crew below. They are often the last to leave and the person everyone assumes is fine.

What strain looks like in a supervisor

Supervisors rarely say they are struggling. Watch for changes instead:

• A short fuse that is new, or getting worse.
• Missed details from someone who never misses details.
• Pulling away: eating lunch alone, skipping the end-of-day talk.
• Working longer hours while getting less done.
• Jokes about drinking, not sleeping or “not caring anymore.”
• Saying “I’m fine” more often, in a flatter voice.

One sign means little. A cluster that lasts a couple of weeks is worth a conversation.

How to check in

Do it privately. Not in the trailer with the crew listening. A drive to the supply house works.

Be specific. “You’ve seemed worn down since the pour got pushed. How are you holding up?” beats “You good?”

Ask directly if you are worried about suicide. Use the plain words. If the answer is yes, stay with the person and call or text 988 together.

Do not try to fix it on the spot. Your job is to notice, ask and connect.

How to refer confidentially

Supervisors worry about how it looks to ask for help. Make the path private:

• Know your company’s employee assistance program number and how it handles confidentiality, so you can explain it in one sentence.
• Give the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7 by call or text. OSHA lists Spanish-language support at 1-888-628-9454.
• Point to industry resources OSHA names, such as Construction Working Minds and Hard Hat Courage.
• Make clear that a supervisor can use outside, private counseling that the company never hears about.

Learn more ›

Make it routine

The best protection is making these check-ins normal for everyone, including the people running the work. Put supervisors in the toolbox talk, not just in front of it. Have project managers check on superintendents and foremen the same way foremen check on crews.

The person responsible for everyone else’s safety deserves someone looking out for theirs.

Put what you know in front of other safety professionals, with your name on it. Every Column runs with your byline, your credentials and a link to your LinkedIn. It goes out by email and is published on our website the same day, so you can share it on LinkedIn right away. It’s open to anyone with a stake in workplace safety. A pitch takes a few sentences. Pitch your idea ›

“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.”

— Vernon Law

Until next month, stay safe.

— The Safety Newsletter