Agency Likely To Explore Vertical Rule Model For Possible Infectious Disease Regs

OSHA is telling stakeholders it would most likely explore a vertical rule model in a potential rulemaking to control infectious disease hazards faced by health care workers, meaning that such regulations would address not just infectious agents but specific industry settings, such as hospitals or long-term care facilities. The agency contrasts that approach with the way it developed its longstanding rule on bloodborne pathogens -- a horizontal approach that addresses the hazard wherever it occurs. The vertical approach would look at all of the possible pathways of infectious agents within a se