On Wednesday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it has withdrawn its proposed change in interpretation of its occupational noise exposure standard. As reported in EmployNews, the proposed interpretation would have required employers to engineer changes to production and other work processes in lieu of providing employees with personal protective equipment, regardless of the cost of such changes.

Manufacturers, backed by key members of Congress contended that the new interpretation would kill American manufacturing jobs due to the anticipated cost of re-engineering work practices to reduce ambient noise levels. As an alternative OSHA stated that it will restart efforts to address workplace noise exposure, including stakeholder meetings, and consultation with experts in the field.