COVID-19 OSHA Standard Expected as Top Priority for Biden Administration

COVID-19 OSHA Standard Expected as Top Priority for Biden Administration

One of the first actions anticipated by President-elect Joe Biden's Administration will be implementing mandatory workplace safety rules that employers must follow to protect workers from COVID-19 exposure.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has held off from issuing an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) emergency temporary standard (ETS), instead relying on the general duty clause contained in the OSHA statute to cite employers for hazards caused by exposing workers to COVID-19. This has prompted several states to promulgate their own worker safety rules for COVID-19.

While there is uncertainty over what would be included in a federal OSHA COVID-19 ETS from the Biden Administration, many predict it will mandate CDC guidelines. Another potential indicator of what may come is action from California's OSHA on a proposed emergency standard, as the current Cal/OSHA Chief, Doug Parker, is part of the Biden-Harris DOL transition team.

An emergency standard could be advanced and implemented immediately and would stay in effect until a permanent OSHA standard is developed, issued, and commented on by the public.

Many businesses remain concerned that OSHA's ETS will be too much of a "one-size-fits-all" standard. A lack of flexibility in the standard could potentially impede the overall response to the virus and place additional burdensome requirements on businesses struggling to keep their doors open.

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