The 2036 deadline that won't be: what's actually in OSHA's April 6 fixed-ladder proposal, and what to file by June 5

The November 18, 2036 deadline came out of OSHA's 2016 Walking-Working Surfaces final rule (81 FR 82494). That rule, finalized after years of rulemaking, established a 20-year transition period during which employers operating facilities with fixed ladders extending more than 24 feet above a lower level had to upgrade those ladders with either personal fall arrest systems or ladder safety systems. Until November 18, 2036, ladder cages or wells (the older protective approach) remained acceptable. After the deadline, every covered fixed ladder had to have one of the modern systems.

The 2016 rationale was that ladder cages, while better than nothing, do not meaningfully prevent falls, they often direct the falling worker into the ladder rungs rather than catching the worker. The 20-year transition period was OSHA's accommodation for the long service life of fixed ladders and the cost of retrofitting facilities at scale.

The proposed rule does two things, one announced and one open for comment:

The announced change: remove the November 18, 2036 compliance deadline. New and replacement fixed ladders over 24 feet would still be required to have personal fall arrest systems or ladder safety systems, that requirement is preserved. But for existing fixed ladders, employers would no longer have a hard deadline to retrofit. Employers could continue to use ladder cages or wells on existing ladders for the remainder of those ladders' service lives.

OSHA's reasoning: the agency reassessed certain assumptions in the 2016 rule, particularly around the practical service life of fixed ladders and the cost-benefit balance of the 2036 deadline. The proposed rule's preliminary economic analysis estimates substantial cost savings for employers, particularly in industries with extensive fixed-ladder infrastructure (utilities, telecommunications, certain manufacturing sectors).

The open-for-comment question: in addition to removing the 2036 deadline, OSHA is asking whether to repeal or revise the requirement that personal fall arrest systems or ladder safety systems be installed on new and replacement fixed ladders over 24 feet. This is the more substantive question. If OSHA acts on it after the comment period, the practical effect would be that employers could continue to install ladder cages on new fixed ladders indefinitely.

The two questions have different stakes. Removing the 2036 deadline affects retrofit timing on existing infrastructure. Removing the new-ladder requirement affects the floor of fall protection for fixed ladders going forward. Comments addressing one don't necessarily address the other.

Three observations for safety managers and OSHA-authorized trainers:

1. The proposal is a proposal, not a final rule. Until OSHA finalizes a new rule, the 2016 standard remains in effect. Employers planning fixed-ladder retrofit work should not pause based on this proposal. The 2036 deadline is the law until OSHA changes the law.

2. New ladder installations should be planned conservatively. If your organization is installing new fixed ladders this year or next, the prudent approach is to install personal fall arrest systems or ladder safety systems as the 2016 rule currently requires, not to bet that the new-ladder requirement will be removed. The proposed rule explicitly preserves that requirement; only the comment period leaves it open.

3. OSHA Outreach training material should track this carefully. Authorized General Industry trainers (#501) have been teaching the 2036 deadline since 2017. If the deadline is removed, training material needs to be updated. The April 6 proposal is the first signal that the material will need a revision; the comment period closing on June 5 is the second; a final rule sometime after will be the third.

OSHA accepts comments through Regulations.gov, docket OSHA-2025-0072. Comments must be received by June 5, 2026. The agency has also indicated that hearing requests are accepted within the comment window, if your organization wants to testify rather than file written comments, the request goes through the same docket.

A few practical notes on commenting:

• Substantive comments are the ones that move rulemaking. “We support” or “we oppose” matter less than data, case studies, or analysis.
• If you're commenting on the new-ladder requirement (the open-for-comment question), explicit attention to fall data, accident rates, and cost-benefit is more persuasive than general policy positioning.
• Trade association comments carry weight, but individual employer comments, especially from the industries most affected, are read.

RegLogic customers with subscriptions on § 1910.28 or § 1910.29 received an email at 7:00 AM ET on April 7 with the proposal summary, the comment deadline, and a direct link to the docket on Regulations.gov.

The proposal is also visible inside the platform on every affected section, marked as “Proposed Rule, comment deadline June 5, 2026.” When the comment period closes, the marker updates. If OSHA finalizes the rule, the section's amendment timeline will show the proposed rule as the precursor to the final rule, with both linked.

This is what we mean by “linked, current, in context.” A proposed rule isn't a final rule, but it's also not invisible. Your compliance team should know it exists, know what it says, and know when comments are due.

If you're an OSHA-authorized General Industry trainer wondering whether your slide deck on fixed ladders needs an update yet: not yet. The 2036 deadline is still the law. But the next twelve months are likely to include a final rule that changes the picture, and you'll want to be ready when it lands.