DOL Announces Fall 2025 Unified Agenda; OSHA and MSHA List 43 Proposed Rules as OSHA Seeks to Change Respirator Medical Evaluations

The Department of Labor released its Fall 2025 Unified Agenda on September 4, 2025, while OSHA proposed to eliminate medical evaluations for certain respirators and extended the comment period. Planning implications hinge on which proposals become final and when.

Executive Summary

The Department of Labor announced its Unified Agenda on September 4, 2025, covering nearly 150 regulatory items, including 43 proposed OSHA/MSHA rules and a July 1 OSHA proposal to eliminate medical evaluations for certain respirators (OSHA; U.S. Department of Labor; Safety+Health Magazine; Parker Poe). This matters for budgeting toward compliance systems and pilots. Core uncertainty remains the timing and final content of these proposals, which have not yet been finalized (Ogletree Deakins).

Background

On September 4, 2025, the Department of Labor announced its Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which includes nearly 150 proposals across DOL agencies (OSHA; U.S. Department of Labor). As part of this cycle, OSHA and MSHA together listed 43 proposed rules as of July 1, 2025 (OSHA: 25; MSHA: 18) (Safety+Health Magazine). Also on July 1, OSHA proposed to eliminate medical evaluations for certain respirators and later extended the comment deadline to November 1, 2025 (Parker Poe; Ogletree Deakins).

Key Provisions

• DOL’s Fall 2025 Unified Agenda was announced September 4, 2025, signaling the administration’s updated rulemaking priorities across OSHA, MSHA, and other agencies (OSHA). The agenda spans nearly 150 proposals under DOL’s jurisdiction (U.S. Department of Labor).
• OSHA and MSHA collectively listed 43 proposed rules as of July 1, 2025, with OSHA accounting for 25 and MSHA for 18 (Safety+Health Magazine). This volume suggests multiple items that could affect compliance workflows depending on final content and timelines (Safety+Health Magazine).
• On July 1, 2025, OSHA proposed eliminating medical evaluation requirements for filtering facepiece respirators (e.g., N95s) and loose-fitting powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) (Parker Poe). This proposal, if finalized, would narrow respirator medical surveillance obligations for those device types in OSHA-covered operations (Parker Poe).
• The same OSHA proposal would not change medical evaluation requirements for tight-fitting air-purifying or supplied-air respirators, which would remain subject to existing medical evaluation rules (EHS Law Insights).
• OSHA extended the comment period for the respirator medical evaluation proposal to November 1, 2025, indicating that any final rule and effective date will follow post-comment deliberation (Ogletree Deakins).

Decision Framework

Two threshold questions drive budget timing for Q1 2026: which OSHA/MSHA proposals are likely to impose new systems requirements in your footprint, and what lead time your internal pilot-and-rollout model requires. A third question is jurisdictional: the split of OSHA- versus MSHA-covered operations in your portfolio.

• If your operations include OSHA-covered sites that primarily use FFRs or loose-fitting PAPRs, then a final OSHA rule eliminating medical evaluations for those respirators could reduce medical surveillance system scope; until finalized, treat this as a proposal with an open docket through November 1, 2025 (Parker Poe; Ogletree Deakins).
• If your portfolio is predominantly MSHA-regulated, then the OSHA respirator proposal may not materially change MSHA-focused compliance system needs; prioritize assessing the 18 MSHA proposals listed in the agenda for potential plan-approval or data/recordkeeping impacts (Safety+Health Magazine).
• If your budget governance makes Q1 2026 the last practical funding window before late 2026, then any slippage in agency timelines could affect readiness; align allocations with DOL’s agenda cadence and OSHA’s post-comment schedule rather than assuming specific effective dates (U.S. Department of Labor; Ogletree Deakins).
• Before deciding, confirm: which of the 43 July 2025 OSHA/MSHA proposals plausibly require new systems in your environment; your OSHA vs. MSHA jurisdiction split; and your pilot duration and integration dependencies that drive lead time (Safety+Health Magazine).

What We’re Monitoring

• OSHA respirator medical evaluation rule docket: post-comment actions and any final rule/effective date following the November 1, 2025 comment close (Ogletree Deakins).
• DOL Unified Agenda item updates and prioritization to gauge likely sequencing and timing across OSHA/MSHA proposals (U.S. Department of Labor).
• OSHA/MSHA agenda summaries highlighting proposal counts and any shifts in focus that could signal near-term system impacts (Safety+Health Magazine; OSHA).