MSHA Extends Effective Date of Working Places RuleThe final rule will now take effect on Oct. 2, 2017.May 23, 2017MSHA has announced it is extending the effective date for the Examinations of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mines final rule to Oct. 2, 2017. This allows for additional training and compliance assistance, according to the agency. The extension allows more time for MSHA to develop compliance assistance materials, which will be made available on the agency's website. More informational meetings regarding compliance will be held within the extended time frame. Published in January 2017 with an effective date of May 23, 2017, the final rule requires that the mine management examine the working place before miners begin working there, that operators notify miners in the affected areas of any condition found that could harm their safety or health, that operators promptly initiate corrective action, and that the operators keep a record of the examination. That examination record must include the name of the person conducting the examination, the date of the examination, the location of all areas that were examined, a description of each potentially harmful condition found, and the date of the corrective action. It also requires that mine operators make the examination record available for inspection by authorized representatives of the secretary of Labor and miners' representatives and provide a copy upon request.