OSHA Advances Work to Establish Permanent COVID Standard for Healthcare Workers

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Jonathan Lips

OSHA announced this week that it will take new public comment on the emergency temporary standard (ETS) issued last summer in relation to COVID-19 exposure in healthcare settings, and will hold a public hearing on these issues April 27.

This relates to the so-called Healthcare ETS issued in June 2021, that imposed a variety of infection control and related requirements to settings where employees provided healthcare services or healthcare support services, including hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living settings among others. 

That ETS expired after six months and, when it did, OSHA said it would be working to establish a permanent regulatory standard to replace it at some point in 2022. The announcement shows that OSHA’s work on this is progressing.

Notably, OSHA is not considering requiring mandatory vaccination for employees at this time.

In a Federal Register publication the agency indicates it is considering changes to the previously-issued ETS, including closer alignment with CDC recommendations, and restating requirements in broader, more general terms, rather than specifying implementation requirements in great detail.

We will work with our partners at Argentum and LeadingAge to submit comments to OSHA to influence and shape this policy-making process to the fullest possible extent.

As Federal OSHA works towards a permanent regulatory standard, Minnesota OSHA will enforce and require employers to comply with obligations under the general duty clause and other current standards, such as the personal protective equipment and respiratory protection standards relating to COVID-19.