If OSHA bear is poked, best to be prepared

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been under scrutiny and criticized, both inside and outside the government, for its response to COVID-19. In January 2021, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order directing the agency to ramp up its enforcement efforts related to the pandemic and consider whether to issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS) imposing specific safety mandates. More recently, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) inspector general issued a report with recommendations that OSHA review its coronavirus-related inspection activities and implement more aggressive and effective inspection and enforcement protocols. It’s reasonable to expect the criticism and scrutiny will result in more aggressive inspections and citations as the pandemic continues.

OSHA’s response to the pandemic

OSHA typically enforces workplace safety by issuing citations for violations of specific safety and health standards. Generally, the citations are issued as a result of workplace inspections triggered by employee complaints or the agency’s normal scheduled procedures for inspections.