OSHA finally proposes emergency temporary standard: Is it too late?

On April 26, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) submitted for final approval an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The ETS is listed as a final rule and designated as being economically significant. The text of the final rule is not yet available for review by the public.

ETS details

An ETS can be issued without the usual notice and comment period that proceeds most regulations. When published, the ETS will take effect immediately and remain in effect until superseded by a permanent standard, which should be issued within six months after the ETS is published. To issue an ETS, OSHA must determine that workers are in "grave danger" due to exposure to COVID-19 and that an emergency standard is "necessary" to protect workers. President Joe Biden on Inauguration Day directed the agency to develop and issue the ETS by March 15.

The ETS is likely to build on the new National Emphasis Program (NEP), implemented March 12, 2021, which guides OSHA's stepped-up enforcement relating to COVID-19 in the workplace. The new directive outlines how the NEP policies and new procedures will minimize worker exposures to the virus by focusing on high-risk industries such as health care, meat and poultry processing, supermarkets, warehousing, restaurants, and correctional institutions.

Is ETS necessary?