The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a new Safety and Health Topics page on lithium-ion battery safety. The page gives employers and workers technical guidance on how to safely manufacture, use, store, recycle, and ship these batteries. It pulls together current guidance, OSHA standards, and national consensus standards in one place.
For dealerships, this is not an abstract topic. Lithium-ion batteries now sit in EVs and hybrids on the lot, in vehicles in the service bay, and in the cordless tools and diagnostic equipment technicians use every day. As EV sales and service volume grow, so does the risk. OSHA’s new page is a good prompt to check whether your safety program has kept up.
Is There a New OSHA Standard?
No. OSHA is clear that there is no specific standard for lithium-ion batteries. Instead, many existing OSHA standards may apply, along with the General Duty Clause in Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act. The General Duty Clause requires employers to keep the workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm. Once OSHA publishes detailed guidance on a hazard, it becomes harder for an employer to argue the hazard was not recognized. The page does not create new legal obligations but it does show what OSHA expects an employer to know.
What the Page Covers
The new page is organized into sections on standards, hazards, evaluating exposure, controls, and additional resources. A few points stand out for dealership operations.
Hazards. OSHA notes that lithium-ion batteries can create hazards during manufacturing, use, transportation, emergency response, disposal, and recycling. Battery components can be flammable, toxic, corrosive, and reactive. Beyond electrical hazards, the major concern is thermal runaway. This is a chain reaction inside the battery that can lead to fire, explosion, and the release of toxic gases. OSHA’s 2025 fact sheet lists common triggers: manufacturing defects, physical damage, exposure to extreme heat or cold, and improper charging.
Hazard Communication. The page points to OSHA’s past letters of interpretation on how the Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) applies to lithium-ion batteries. In general, sealed batteries used normally may qualify as “articles” and fall outside the standard. That changes when work could expose employees to the battery’s contents, such as during repair, disassembly, or a battery failure.
Controls. OSHA lists specific controls, including:
- Storing batteries and devices in cool, dry locations
- Following the manufacturer’s instructions for storage, use, charging, and maintenance
- Limiting stored quantities in line with NFPA 800 (Battery Safety Code) and NFPA 855 (stationary energy storage systems)
- Not mixing battery types, such as lithium-ion, alkaline, and lead acid, in recycling
- Providing safety showers and eyewash stations where workers could be exposed to electrolytes
Emergency planning. OSHA says employers with lithium-ion batteries should make sure their emergency action plan includes response procedures for lithium battery incidents. Those procedures should be based on the manufacturer’s instructions and NFPA guidance for battery failures, including thermal runaway fires and explosions. Workers must be trained on them.
What Dealerships Should Do Now
OSHA’s guidance is written for a broad audience, from battery plants to recyclers. Here is how it translates to a dealership.
Know where your batteries are. Map every place lithium-ion batteries live in your store. Think EV and hybrid inventory, vehicles awaiting high-voltage repair, removed battery packs, shop tool chargers, and scan tool docking stations.
Isolate damaged packs. A battery that has been in a collision, a flood, or an overheating event can go into thermal runaway hours or even days later. Follow your OEM’s procedures for quarantine and storage. Keep damaged EVs and packs away from buildings, other vehicles, and combustibles.
Control charging. Use only manufacturer-approved chargers. Keep tool charging areas clear of clutter and flammable materials. Do not leave damaged or swollen tool batteries on the charger.
Update your emergency action plan. Add lithium battery fire procedures. Make sure employees know that an EV battery fire is not a normal vehicle fire and that the right response is to evacuate and call 911. Consider inviting your local fire department to walk through the service area.
Review HazCom and training. If technicians open, repair, or replace high-voltage battery components, confirm you have the right safety data sheets and that workers are trained on the hazards. Technicians should be trained and qualified under your OEM’s high-voltage program before working on these systems.
Handle shipping and disposal correctly. Lithium-ion batteries are regulated as hazardous materials in transport. Shipping cores or damaged packs back to the manufacturer falls under DOT rules, including 49 CFR 173.185, and anyone who prepares those shipments needs hazmat training. Spent batteries should go to designated recyclers, not the trash.
How ComplyAuto Can Help
Keeping up with OSHA guidance is hard when you are also running a store. ComplyAuto makes it easier.
Our training library covers the topics in this article, including hazard communication, emergency action plans, and battery and EV safety. Courses are built for dealership employees, so they speak to the work your people actually do. Assignments, completions, and records are tracked in one place.
Training is just one part of our full-service safety suite. ComplyAuto helps you build and maintain your written safety programs, manage safety data sheets, run inspections, and keep your OSHA records audit-ready. You get the tools and the expert support to stay compliant as the rules and the technology change.
Ready to see how it works? Schedule a demo with our team today.