Amazon is suing New York’s state government to block an enforcement action over COVID-19 exposures at one of its warehouses -- claiming the action is preempted by the OSH Act and further escalating a legal battle over whether states can enforce their pandemic protections in workplaces that OSHA regulates.
Public Citizen claims that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) blocked OSHA from investigating COVID-19 outbreaks at meat-packing plants during the early weeks of the pandemic, touting newly released documents it says show that USDA rejected the agency’s initial outreach and then kept OSHA in a “subservient” role.
Anonymous meat-packing facility workers suing OSHA over its failure to cite their employer for “imminent danger” of COVID-19 infections at their plant say the Biden administration’s new COVID-19 guidance helps their case and are asking a judge to keep the suit alive even after the agency finalized its enforcement findings.
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) is outlining an ambitious agenda for the Biden OSHA, including strict COVID-19 workplace standards and increased enforcement, but also a long-term effort to “rebuild” the agency by raising staff levels and reforming the process for crafting new safety standards.
Labor Secretary nominee Marty Walsh said at his Feb. 4 confirmation hearing that OSHA will be one of his “first, top priorities” if confirmed, praised Virginia’s COVID-19 workplace standard and said any federal rule for the pandemic will come with a boost to enforcement, echoing President Joe Biden’s promises for the agency.
President Joe Biden’s choice of a former Labor Department policy official for a top role at the influential White House office charged with reviewing agencies’ regulatory actions could ease approval for strict OSHA regulations, including a workplace COVID-19 standard, as part of a broader shift in how officials conduct those reviews.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is calling for OSHA to tighten its response to COVID-19, especially its oversight and tracking of regional enforcement actions related to the pandemic -- recommendations Trump-era officials rejected but which the agency could revisit under the Biden administration.
OSHA has released a broad new guide for employers to mitigate COVID-19 infection risks in the workplace, its first step toward tightening Trump-era policies for the pandemic following President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring the agency to update its guidance while considering an emergency temporary standard (ETS).
California Attorney General (AG) Xavier Becerra (D) is launching a new section within his division of public rights that will in part bolster enforcement of worker health and safety rules, including of the controversial new Cal/OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect workers from COVID-19.
Attorneys representing employers expect OSHA to quickly implement President Joe Biden’s agenda for the agency including aggressive enforcement and a new COVID-19 standard, but several pending lawsuits and enforcement challenges could end up curtailing its authority regardless.