Coronavirus Emergency Temporary Standard Issued for Health Care Workers

Due to a Presidential Executive Order, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a coronavirus emergency temporary standard. Explicitly, the Executive Order (EO) declared that ensuring the health and safety of workers is a national and moral priority. As a result, the January 2021 EO directed OSHA to reduce worker risk of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace. Subsequently, on January 29th, 2021, OSHA released new universal workplace guidance for COVID-19. Likewise, on June 10, OSHA announced it would issue an emergency temporary standard to protect healthcare workers from contracting coronavirus.

Background of the Standard

Generally, OSHA has determined that employee exposure to COVID-19 presents a grave danger to workers in healthcare settings. As a result, healthcare workers continue to put their lives in jeopardy and need protection against ongoing workplace exposure. Previously, OSHA determined that existing standards and regulations are inadequate in addressing the COVID-19 hazard for these workers. Because of that fact, OSHA created the coronavirus emergency temporary standard (ETS) to address the threat.

Overview of the ETS

Overall, the coronavirus ETS is one standard with multiple sections, all contained in Subpart U. The ETS sections include the following:

• 502 – Healthcare: Firstly, the ETS applies to all settings where any employee provides healthcare services or healthcare support services.
• 504 – Mini Respiratory Protection Program: Secondly, the ETS addresses limited requirements for situations involving respirator use under specific provisions in 1910.502.
• 505 – Severability: Thirdly, the ETS provides that each section of Subpart U is separate and severable from other sections and provisions.
• 509 – Incorporation by Reference: Finally, this section contains materials adopted as part of the ETS. Markedly, this includes CDC guidance, standards for PPE, and the EPA’s list of approved disinfectants.

Employer Takeaways

In summary, the coronavirus emergency temporary standard aims to protect workers facing the highest COVID-19 hazards. Therefore covered workers include:

• employees in hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities;
• emergency responders;
• home healthcare workers; and
• employees in ambulatory care facilities who treat suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients.

Also, the ETS exempts fully vaccinated workers from masking, distancing, and barrier requirements when in well-defined areas. Those areas include spaces with no reasonable expectation that any person with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 is present. Finally, the ETS is effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register. (As of the date of this blog’s publication, the Federal Register has not published the ETS.) Employers must comply with most provisions within 14 days and conditions involving physical barriers, ventilation, and training within 30 days. OSHA will use its enforcement discretion for employers making a “good-faith effort” to comply with the ETS.