The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) is raising several concerns with a newly proposed state bill that would mandate COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment for all public and private sector workers, including that employers will find it harder to hire and retain workers, and could face burdensome litigation over their compliance.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has quickly completed its review of what one source says will be OSHA’s call for public comments to inform a permanent COVID-19 protection rule for healthcare facilities based on its emergency temporary standard (ETS).
California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) is preparing to soon release an updated version of its controversial COVID-19 worker safety emergency temporary standard (ETS), drawing fears from employers’ attorneys that the state will ramp up enforcement of the rule even as the contours of the update remain unclear.
OSHA is reversing its Trump-era arguments that prompted a federal district court to narrow the application of a little-used OSH Act provision allowing workers to sue the agency to force action on an “imminent” workplace danger, after former officials said the precedent could undermine enforcement more broadly.
OSHA is preparing to open a new public comment period and hold at least one hearing to aid its development of a permanent version of the 2021 COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) for healthcare facilities, after vowing in court filings to complete work on that rule before the end of the year, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Public health experts are praising the White House’s newly updated COVID-19 guidance for its emphasis on ventilation, but are urging OSHA and states to develop broader indoor air quality standards that account for environmental disparities and focus on filtration measures to protect workers against aerosol pollutants as well as viruses.
OSHA has announced a three-month initiative that will escalate its follow-up inspections of hospitals and other skilled nursing facilities that have prior pandemic-related citations or complaints, as the agency seeks to develop a permanent COVID-19 standard for the sector in the coming months.
OSHA says it expects to publish a suite of new and updated heat stress-prevention products in the coming months, with outreach targeted at minority and non-English-speaking workers, while aiming to release additional materials later this year based on feedback from a new advisory panel.
Members of an OSHA advisory panel are expressing support for the agency’s preliminary plans to begin incorporating broad risk-based safety frameworks in its guidance documents and rulemakings, but are cautioning officials to first conduct outreach to inform employers about the new model before developing enforcement materials.
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has released a slew of new research on the effectiveness of workplace COVID-19 controls, including those related to masking and distancing, with advice that could bolster the case for tough new safety measures in OSHA’s permanent COVID-19 standard for the healthcare sector.