OSHA issues tardy emergency COVID-19 standard for healthcare settings

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to expand protections against COVID-19 for workers in the healthcare sector.

How we got here

As soon as Joe Biden was inaugurated, he announced a newly energized OSHA would be issuing an ETS to combat COVID-19 by March 15. The new standard was expected to be a potent counterweight to the agency's inaction during the Trump administration. After a series of delays during which the deadline passed and the vaccine became widespread, however, the rationale for an emergency standard seemed to have dissipated as well.

OSHA can issue an ETS circumventing the regular rulemaking process only if the agency determines (1) workers are exposed to grave danger from exposure to substances or agents determined to be toxic or physically harmful (or from new hazards) and (2) an ETS is necessary to protect them from the danger.

With OSHA's delay in issuing the ETS and the successful vaccine rollout, the high hopes for the agency have been deflated, and some union leaders have added the misfire to a growing list of unfulfilled pledges from the Biden administration.

What ETS covers, requires