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OSHA Hazard Communication Letters of Interpretation
1988 enforcement stay and nonmanufacturing HCS rollout
- Issued
- Record type
- Interpretation
- Historical standard
- 1910.1200, 1987 expanded rule (PDF)
- Current standard
- HCS 2024, as amended
ILPI assessment: Historical enforcement timetable; no current construction exemption
This letter addresses the HCS as expanded in 1987, an obsolete version of the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS). Its 1988 stays, inspection instructions, and rollout dates are historical; they do not create a current construction or nonmanufacturing exemption. The HCS now applies across covered industries under current scope.
Construction adopts the HCS through 1926.59. OSHA's July 22, 1988 notice documents this stage of enforcement; its 1994 rule history records the later court decision vacating the construction stay. Use current HCS inspection procedures for the present enforcement counterpart.
Last reviewed: .
About this ILPI assessment
This comparison with current requirements is not a finding that OSHA has formally withdrawn this letter. This assessment reflects editorial judgment informed by human review and AI assistance. It is an opinion, may contain errors or omissions, and is not an official OSHA determination. For guidance on how OSHA requirements apply to your circumstances, contact your local OSHA office.
OSHA's notice about interpretation letters
The following notice is published on OSHA's interpretation pages; it is general guidance, not a letter-specific withdrawal notice.
OSHA requirements are set by statute, standards and regulations. Our interpretation letters explain these requirements and how they apply to particular circumstances, but they cannot create additional employer obligations. This letter constitutes OSHA's interpretation of the requirements discussed. Note that our enforcement guidance may be affected by changes to OSHA rules. Also, from time to time we update our guidance in response to new information. To keep apprised of such developments, you can consult OSHA's website at https://www.osha.gov.
Source: OSHA's original letter page.
July 18, 1988
MEMORANDUM FOR: ALL REGIONAL ADMINISTRATORS
FROM: JOHN A. PENDERGRASS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY
SUBJECT: Enforcement of the Hazard Communication Standard
This is a followup to our memorandum of May 25, regarding enforcement of the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) in the non-manufacturing sector (copy attached). As mentioned in that memorandum, on May 20, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit transferred the petitions to review the expanded Hazard Communication Standard to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and ordered OSHA to stay enforcement of the expanded standard until the Third Circuit ruled on an emergency motion for stay that it had under review.
On June 24, the Third Circuit granted a stay of enforcement of the HCS. On June 30, the Secretary of Labor filed a motion with the Third Circuit to clarify the scope of the revised HCS in the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, with the exception of construction. On July 8, the Third Circuit granted the motion and clarified that the stay applies only with respect to construction employers.
[ILPI note: At issuance: 1910.1200, 1987 expanded rule (PDF). This stay and enforcement timetable are historical. Current counterparts: HCS scope and construction adoption. There is no present construction exemption from this 1988 stay.]
OSHA is preparing a Federal Register notice to inform employers and employees in the non-manufacturing sector that the effective date of the HCS was June 24, 1988, for all industry sectors except construction. To provide time for additional notification to affected employers and employees, OSHA will not include assessments of compliance with the HCS in programmed inspections, nor in unprogrammed inspections not related to hazard communication, until August 1, 1988.
Effective immediately, complaints or referrals alleging a deficiency in any non-construction employer's hazard communication program shall be handled in accordance with Chapter IX of Field Operations Manual. In addition, fatality/catastrophe investigations shall include assessment of compliance with the HCS if it appears to be relevant.
CSHOs [Compliance Safety and Health Officers
] shall ensure that chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers in the non-manufacturing sectors are notified during each inspection until August 1, that the HCS has been in effect for all non-manufacturing sectors, except construction, as of June 24.
All State designees and Consultation Project Managers within your Region should be notified immediately of these developments and the nature and time table for OSHA's enforcement plans in all non-manufacturing sectors except construction. Any State plan which has been honoring the stay on the HCS in the non-manufacturing sector may continue to do so with respect to the Third Circuit's order concerning construction, but must begin enforcement in all other non-manufacturing sectors no later than August 1, in order to maintain an effective level of plan operation and employee protection.
The original official public domain version of this document is available from OSHA at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/1988-07-18.