AFL-CIO Sues OSHA Over Worker Safety Standards

Last month, the United States Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) issued an Interim Enforcement Response Plan to provide OSHA investigators with instructions and guidance for handling complaints and issues related to COVID-19.  Although the Plan indicates that various OSHA standards may apply to such situations -- including the “general duty” clause, which requires employers to maintain a hazard-free workplace – OSHA has not announced a specific standard pertaining to COVID-19.  The United States Department of Labor, which houses OSHA, has stated that it believes that a “mandatory standard specifically addressing the grave risk posed by the virus was not necessary.”

Earlier this week, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (“AFL-CIO”), the largest federation of labor unions in the United States, filed an emergency petition in federal court in an attempt to compel OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard that would protect workers from COVID-19.  To issue an emergency temporary standard, OSHA “must determine that workers are in grave danger due to exposure to toxic substances or agents determined to be toxic or physically harmful or to new hazards and that an emergency standard is needed to protect them.”  In its lawsuit, the AFL-CIO claims that thousands of essential workers have been exposed to COVID-19 while at work and thousands more will likely be exposed as various states loosen restrictions on in-person business operations. 

It remains to be seen when or how the court will rule on the AFL-CIO’s emergency petition.  If OSHA is compelled to issue an emergency temporary standard, we will be sure to update you on the court’s ruling and, subsequently, the contents of the subsequent standard.  Nevertheless, Pennsylvania employers that have continued or will soon be resuming their in-person operations must abide by the procedures issued by the state Department of Health last month.  To this end, it is advisable for employers to prepare and issue an employer response plan and train employees on these procedures.

For questions about this or any other labor and employment law issue, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Hoffman & Hlavac.  To stay on top of the labor and employment developments that affect your workplace, please subscribe to our blog and follow us on social media.