Congressional Democrats are backing a federal lawsuit by Amazon employees alleging that the online retailer failed to protect workers at a New York City warehouse from COVID-19 infections, setting up a test of companies’ duty to follow state safety mandates during the pandemic after OSHA declined to issue an emergency standard.
A federal appeals court has rejected trade unions’ bid to force OSHA to craft an emergency temporary standard to protect workers from COVID-19, holding that the agency’s decision to rely on existing rules and guidance deserves “considerable deference” because of the “unprecedented” nature of the current pandemic.
Critics of President Donald Trump’s latest deregulatory executive order (EO) are questioning whether it will drive significant new agency rollbacks without encountering major legal problems, though supporters are highlighting another aspect that imposes a series of principles designed to ensure “fairness” in enforcement actions.
Industry groups are clashing with labor and health organizations over how Cal/OSHA should revise its proposed permanent rules for protecting outdoor workers from wildfire smoke, with both sides citing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in their calls to either relax or tighten certain provisions of the regulations.
The AFL-CIO is defending its suit aiming to force OSHA to craft an emergency temporary standard (ETS) for protecting workers from COVID-19 infection, arguing that the agency’s preferred strategy that combines non-binding guidance with pre-existing authorities like the general duty clause “stands the OSH Act on its head."
OSHA and industry groups are urging federal appellate judges to reject the AFL-CIO’s suit seeking a short deadline for the agency to issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS) protecting workers from COVID-19, arguing that existing rules already provide enforceable standards for employers to prevent workplace infections.
OSHA’s newly issued alert outlining steps employers can take to encourage social distancing in the workplace, including maintaining space between workers and isolating sick employees, could preview the agency’s forthcoming guidance for how businesses can safely reopen under loosened state pandemic orders.
Lawmakers at a May 28 House hearing on the Trump administration’s coronavirus response sparred over whether OSHA needs to craft an emergency temporary standard (ETS) for protecting workers from infections, previewing arguments that could arise in labor unions’ pending lawsuit to force issuance of an ETS.
Industry attorneys are predicting that employers will face major difficulties implementing OSHA’s new guidance on when their employees’ COVID-19 infections qualify as work-related and thus subject to reporting requirements, with one law firm calling the policy a “disappointing” shift from the agency’s prior stance.
Former Obama OSHA chief David Michaels says that with little chance of OSHA issuing binding rules on how to protect workers from COVID-19, employers should develop safeguards collaboratively with their workers to ensure full participation in those measures.