The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it will extend for six months, through Sept. 15, its forbearance of strict enforcement in residential construction rules.

Homebuilders and roofers, including some in Lincoln and Nebraska, had complained about the penalties, stiff enforcement and difficulty of complying with new rules covering fall protection, including the use of scaffolding and the necessity of some employees wearing safety harnesses anchored and tethered to buildings under construction.

Originally issued in September 2011 and set to expire in March, a forbearance policy outlines the steps OSHA is taking to highlight the fall protection issue and provide assistance to those builders needing help in developing and implementing compliance, according to a statement from the Nebraska State Home Builders Association.

The association said the extension means that now through Sept. 15:

OSHA will make it a priority to provide compliance assistance to the residential construction industry.

OSHA will allow an up-to-10-percent "good faith" reduction in penalties if builders can demonstrate they have taken steps to reduce fall hazards.

OSHA will allow residential construction employers at least 30 days to correct fall protection violations identified during an inspection. 

All proposed citations will be submitted to the OSHA Regional Offices to ensure consistency and clarity.

"OSHA's willingness to extend this policy demonstrates its recognition of the challenges that many builders face in complying with this (fall-protection) standard and provides much-needed time to fully understand what must be done to protect workers," the association said.

NSHBA said it has a safety program in place, which it called the first of its kind in the nation, that encompasses awareness, education, training and record keeping. NSHBA said it has more than 1,200 members statewide in seven local associations.

Fatalities from falls are the number one cause of workplace death in construction, according to OSHA.

The agency said it has worked closely with the residential construction industry over the past year, conducting more than 1,000 outreach sessions nationwide to assist employers in complying with the new directive.