Concern increases on delay of OSHA COVID-19 standard

It’s been nearly three weeks since the Biden Administration missed a self-imposed deadline for issuing an emergency temporary standard laying out enforceable standards for workplace safety from COVID-19, and concern among occupational safety and health advocates is ramping up.

“Workers can’t wait,” Jessica Martinez, co-executive director of National Council for Occupational Safety and Health said in a statement on Wednesday. “We know that workers still face the risk of COVID-19 infections in their workplaces, and we know that these infections can spread to neighborhoods, families and communities.”

On January 21st, its first day in office, the administration issued an executive order that required the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to, “Consider whether any emergency temporary standards on COVID-19, including with respect to masks in the workplace, are necessary, and if such standards are determined to be necessary, issue them by March 15, 2021.”