Lead Industries Ass'n v. Marshall
Headline: Court temporarily blocks several requirements of OSHA’s lead-exposure workplace rule, pausing engineering controls, certain medical testing, hygiene construction, respirator specifics, signage, and some startup dates while review requests proceed.
Holding:
- Temporarily pauses certain employer obligations under the OSHA lead-exposure rule.
- Allows powered air-purifying respirators when standard models are inadequate.
- Most of the rule remains in effect; other compliance duties still apply.
Summary
Background
Two industry groups, the Lead Industries Association and the National Association of Recycling Industries, asked the Court to pause enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s final lead-exposure rule, 29 CFR §1910.1025 (1979). They also sought to stay a Court of Appeals decision that had partly upheld and partly sent aspects of the rule back for further action. The request asked the Supreme Court to intervene while the groups seek full review.
Reasoning
The Court granted a temporary stay for specific parts of the OSHA standard while requests for Supreme Court review are filed and decided. The stay covers engineering and work-practice controls; most written compliance programs; a respirator provision with a limited alternative allowing powered air-purifying respirators when standard models do not fit; hygiene facility requirements only to the extent they force new construction or major renovations; certain medical monitoring and testing rules involving zinc protoporphyrin and a multiple-physician review mechanism; required signs; and startup-date obligations that conflict with this order. The Court denied a broader stay of the entire rule. It also stayed the Court of Appeals’ judgment only where that judgment would require actions inconsistent with this temporary pause. Justice Powell did not participate in the decision.
Real world impact
While the pause is in effect, employers will not have to follow the blocked requirements but must comply with the rest of the OSHA lead standard. The order is temporary and applies only until the Supreme Court decides whether to grant full review; the rule’s obligations could be restored, modified, or further limited later. Administrative proceedings ordered by the Court of Appeals continue except where they conflict with this stay.
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