HazCom 2024 Changes (GHS Rev 7): What Changed and What Employers Update

Short answer: HazCom 2024 is OSHA’s update of the Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200), published May 20, 2024 and effective July 19, 2024, which aligns the rule mainly with GHS Revision 7. It revises hazard classification criteria, adds a six-month rule for updating labels, adds small-container labeling and trade-secret provisions, and amends what safety data sheets contain. For employers the work is narrower: as necessary, update workplace labels, the written program and training for newly identified hazards, by November 20, 2026 for substances and May 19, 2028 for mixtures.

What changed in the 2024 rule

• Hazard classification. Revised criteria for some health and physical hazards. New or expanded physical hazard classes include desensitized explosives, aerosols in three categories, and chemicals under pressure (liquids or solids pressurised with a gas at 200 kPa or more, outside aerosol cans) (Appendix B).
• Label updates. Anyone who becomes newly aware of significant hazard information must revise the label within six months. Containers already released for shipment need not be relabelled, but the updated label must go with each container when it ships (paragraph (f)(11)).
• Small containers. A container of 100 mL or less may carry a shortened label: product identifier, pictogram(s), signal word, the manufacturer’s name and phone number, and a statement that the full label is on the outer package. At 3 mL or less, where any label would interfere with normal use, only the product identifier is required. The immediate outer package carries the full label (paragraph (f)(12)).
• Trade secrets. Where a concentration is withheld as a trade secret, the SDS gives one of the prescribed concentration ranges instead, the narrowest that fits (paragraph (i)(1)(iv)–(v)).
• Safety data sheets. Technical amendments to SDS contents; the 16-section format stays (Appendix D).

Most of these are duties of chemical manufacturers, importers and distributors, who had until May 19, 2026 (substances) and have until November 19, 2027 (mixtures) to reclassify and update their labels and sheets. Employers see the result as revised safety data sheets and labels arriving from suppliers.

What does not change for employers

• You do not have to ask suppliers for new sheets for products you already have sheets for; keep the most recent one they send (OSHA directive CPL 02-02-079).
• Safety data sheets must still be readily accessible to employees during each work shift (paragraph (g)(8)).
• Training is still required at initial assignment and whenever a new chemical hazard is introduced (paragraph (h)(1)); see HazCom training requirements.
• The written program still has to list your hazardous chemicals and describe labels, sheets and training; see what a written program must contain.
• There is no small-business exemption: the standard covers any employer whose workers may be exposed to hazardous chemicals.

For the dates by State Plan, the countdown and a checklist, see the OSHA HazCom deadline guide.

Where SDSentry fits

SDSentry keeps each location’s SDS library (multi-source lookup plus your own uploads), GHS secondary-container labels, training records with e-signatures and a written HazCom program built from your inventory in one place, so a revised sheet, its label and the training record sit together for each product. It is $24 per location per month or $199 per location per year, with unlimited users. Start a 7-day free trial with no card; a free plan covers up to 5 chemicals.

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Educational information about OSHA Hazard Communication, not legal or compliance advice. Compliance dates are set by OSHA and have already been extended once; verify the current requirements at osha.gov/hazcom and with a qualified safety professional.