The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently sent a memo to their regional offices outlining policy changes that will impact the agency's ability to enforce worker protections that prevent against tuberculosis. The memo comes in response to the 2005 Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations bill, which included a rider that prevents OSHA from enforcing a respiratory protection provision for tuberculosis during the 2005 fiscal year. According to the rider, employers are no longer held accountable for conducting annual fit testing of respirators used to prevent occupational exposure to tuberculosis. OSHA cannot inspect annual fit testing nor can it cite employers for failing to perform such tests. Annual fit testing ensures that respirators continue to fit employees properly, thereby limiting their exposure to tuberculosis microorganisms. Read more.