OSHA can do more to protect Americans from COVID

Thus, there appears to be a majority of at least six justices who would consider a more traditional risk-based rule, which would base protections on the level of risk that workers experience. The acknowledgment that there are situations where OSHA can regulate Covid-19 exposure presents a path forward for OSHA to do what Congress instructed the agency to do when workers face a new, grave danger: Issue an emergency standard requiring employers to control the hazard so that their workers don’t get sick…

OSHA’s path forward to protecting workers from Covid-19 is clear. First, the agency should take the previous OSHA standard out of the desk drawer, dust it off, update the data, make any tweaks to ensure it fits the court’s new suggestion that it be risk-based and send it over to the White House. The standard should cover all workers in higher risk jobs, not only those employed by large employers. Second, OSHA should rescind its withdrawal of the standard for health care workers or immediately issue a new one. Keeping health care workers safe must, of course, remain a top priority.