Representatives request OSHA hear formal input on COVID standards

U.S. Reps. Fred Keller (R-PA) and Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Education and Labor Committee ranking member and Republican leader, recently sent a letter to Al Stewart, acting Secretary of Labor, urging the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to hear formal input from businesses and employees regarding COVID-19 standards.

In January, President Joe Biden directed OSHA to consider whether emergency temporary standards concerning the COVID-19 pandemic are necessary and to issue any standards by March 15.

Under OSHA laws and regulations, the agency can issue Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) if it determines workers are in grave danger because of exposure to toxic substances or agents. ETS remain in place for at least six months and may eventually become permanent.

“We are concerned that nearly a year into the pandemic, and with the deployment of effective vaccines currently underway around the country, the Biden administration is considering implementing sweeping new employer mandates in the form of an ETS and permanent rule related to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases,” the letter said. “This action would reverse the Trump administration’s effective policy and ignore the substantial efforts and investments employers and employees have successfully made, based on science-backed guidelines, to keep their workplaces safe.”

The representatives request OSHA answer seven questions on the steps it has taken to determine whether an ETS is necessary.