{"id":905182,"date":"2025-12-29T16:37:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T23:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=905182"},"modified":"2025-12-29T16:37:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T23:37:30","slug":"confined-spaces-new-cal-osha-standards-in-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/confined-spaces-new-cal-osha-standards-in-construction\/","title":{"rendered":"New Cal\/OSHA Standard for Confined Spaces in Construction Takes Effect on January 1, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Robert Rodriguez and Karen Tynan | <a href=\"https:\/\/ogletree.com\/insights-resources\/blog-posts\/new-cal-osha-standard-for-confined-spaces-in-construction-takes-effect-on-january-1-2026\/?_gl=1*8vpj74*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTc4ODAxNTE2MC4xNzY3MDUwNjcx*_ga_V4WT9JNBFT*czE3NjcwNTA2NjkkbzEkZzAkdDE3NjcwNTA2NjkkajYwJGwwJGgw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak &amp; Stewart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On November 4, 2025, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Cal\/OSHA Standards Board) filed its\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ogletree.com\/insights-resources\/blog-posts\/cal-osha-standards-board-adopts-construction-safety-order-for-confined-spaces\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">adopted revisions<\/a>\u00a0to regulations on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dir.ca.gov\/OSHSB\/Confined-Spaces-in-Construction.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">construction safety orders for confined spaces<\/a>. The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) recently approved the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dir.ca.gov\/OSHSB\/documents\/Confined-Spaces-in-Construction-OAL-Changes-Text.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">regulatory text<\/a>\u00a0at Title 8 CCR \u00a7\u00a7 1951 through 1956, with an effective date of January 1, 2026.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Quick Hits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Revised California safety regulations related to confined spaces in construction will take effect on January 1, 2026.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>California\u2019s revised regulations on construction safety orders include updated definitions for \u201centry employer,\u201d \u201chazardous atmosphere,\u201d \u201clockout,\u201d \u201cminimum explosive concentration,\u201d and \u201ctagout.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The revised regulations require employers to identify <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/oshas-new-regulation-on-confined-spaces-in-construction\/\">confined spaces<\/a> and evaluate permit-required spaces, utilizing a competent person for the initial survey of the work area and the identification of the permit-required confined spaces at the time work begins. Employers are also required to communicate when a new confined space is discovered or created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As with the general industry standard, \u201cconfined space\u201d means a space that (1) is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter it, (2) has limited or restricted means for entry and exit, and (3) is not designed for continuous employee occupancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPermit-required confined space\u201d (\u201cpermit space\u201d) means a confined space that has one or more of the following characteristics: (1) it \u201c[c]ontains or has a potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere\u201d; (2) it \u201c[c]ontains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant\u201d; (3) it \u201c[h]as an internal configuration such that an entrant could be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor which slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross-section\u201d; or (4) it \u201c[c]ontains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEntry employer\u201d is broadly defined and includes \u201cany employer whose employees enter or will enter a permit space.\u201d Entry employers must have a written permit space program implemented at the construction site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maintaining documentation for these requirements is critical and may require new methods of recordkeeping at construction job sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Next Steps<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>California construction employers may want to take note of the regulations\u2019 January 1, 2026, effective date and consider making adjustments and updates to their confined-space programs and construction site inspections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes &#8211; please call Advise &amp; Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email <a href=\"mailto:experts@adviseandconsult.net\">experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Robert Rodriguez and Karen Tynan | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak &amp; Stewart On November 4, 2025, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Cal\/OSHA Standards Board) filed its\u00a0adopted revisions\u00a0to regulations on\u00a0construction safety orders for confined spaces. The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) recently approved the\u00a0regulatory text\u00a0at Title 8 CCR \u00a7\u00a7 1951 through 1956, with&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/confined-spaces-new-cal-osha-standards-in-construction\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">New Cal\/OSHA Standard for Confined Spaces in Construction Takes Effect on January 1, 2026<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10895],"tags":[9895,431,11797],"class_list":["post-905182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-osha-osha","tag-advise-consult","tag-confined-spaces","tag-occupational-safety-and-health-administration","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New Cal\/OSHA Standard for Confined Spaces in Construction Takes Effect on January 1, 2026 - Advise &amp; 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