The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is expected to use COVID-19 stimulus funding to increase enforcement at high-risk workplaces, according to participants in a March 19 roundtable hosted by the Small Business Administration.
The roundtable discussion included representatives from NGFA, other agriculture groups, manufacturing, construction and other sectors, along with staff from the House Education and Labor Committee.
The COVID-19 stimulus bill signed by President Biden on March 11 allocates $100 million for OSHA, including $10 million for training grants and $5 million for enforcement activities.
These activities include the enforcement of the COVID-19 National Emphasis Program (NEP) at high-risk workplaces, including health care, meat and poultry processing facilities, agricultural work places and correctional facilities.
In response to President Biden's executive order on protecting worker health and safety, OSHA on March 12 announced the launch of the NEP focusing enforcement efforts on companies that put the largest number of workers at risk of contracting the coronavirus.
Roundtable participants noted it is highly likely that the remaining funds appropriated to OSHA in the stimulus bill will be used to hire more inspectors to increase overall enforcement.
COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard:
President Biden’s executive order also called for a COVID-19 ETS to be issued by March 15. The ETS is being sent to the White House office that reviews regulations, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, for at least a two-week period before it is issued.
The COVID-19 NEP will remain in effect before and after the ETS is issued. Labor organizations have indicated that they expect the ETS to guarantee pay and benefits to workers who take leave due to potential COVID-19 exposures or diagnoses.
The ETS and NEP will make masks mandatory in the workplace, including in states where the mask mandate has been lifted by both the state government and private companies. Upcoming House Legislation: According to committee staff present at the roundtable meeting, legislative priorities for the House Education and Labor Committee include:
• workplace violence for health care and social workers;
• heat stress; and
• amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 that include increasing protections for whistleblowers and increasing penalties for certain violators
- From the NGFA Newsletter
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