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Fall protection provisions and overhand bricklaying

Summary A bricklayers union asked whether several construction fall protection provisions applied to overhand bricklaying. OSHA said those specified provisions did not apply to that process for masons and mason tenders, while it continued studying whether new rules were needed. OSHA archives the letter.
Document
Federal opinion letter
Agency
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Document number
1981-01-13-0
Date issued
January 13, 1981
Status
Archived by the agency
OSHA labels this an archive document and warns that it may no longer represent OSHA policy.
Status last verified October 10, 2026
Topics
Workplace Safety OSHA 1926 Masonry Fall Protection Coverage
Source
View the official document

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NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

January 13, 1981

Mr. James Richardson
International Union of Bricklayers
and Allied Craftsmen
[Recipient address omitted]

Dear Mr. Richardson:

This is in response to your letter of January 6, 1981 concerning the applicability of standards 29 CFR 1926.28, 29 CFR 1926.104, 29 CFR 1926.105, and 29 CFR 1926.500(d)(1) to the process of overhand-bricklaying.

It is the interpretation of OSHA that these standards do not apply to the process of overhand-bricklaying and that, therefore, masons and mason tenders are exempt from these regulations.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will continue to study the problem by consulting with the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health, the Mason Contractors of America, the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied craftsmen, the International Laborers Union, and other interested parties, to determine what new regulations, if any, would be appropriate for promulgation concerning this matter.

Sincerely,
Eula Bingham
Assistant Secretary
Occupational Safety and Health

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