Final COVID-19 OSHA Regulation Covering Healthcare Employers Is on OSHA's Agenda for Issuance in September 2022
July 20, 2022
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA's) emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring healthcare employers to adhere to numerous regulatory requirements addressing COVID-19 was largely withdrawn in December 2021. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its regulatory agenda forecasting that employers in healthcare settings can anticipate that OSHA will roll out permanent COVID-19 regulations in September 2022. It is expected that many of the requirements in the ETS will be resurrected in the new final rule.The healthcare ETS required employers to develop and implement COVID-19 plans that included paid time off for vaccination, social distancing, personal protective gear, physical barriers, ventilation, patient and employee screening, employee training, recordkeeping and reporting.
