Possible change to workplace safety standards causes concern

The House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on workplace safety in the era of COVID-19, an issue also raised by the Biden administration. One topic of debate involves whether the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration should issue an Emergency Temporary Standard addressing mask wearing. The American Hospital Association expressed concern that a rigid standard could create an unnecessary regulatory burden, especially in the event of a COVID-19 surge. Under an inflexible standard, hospitals facing a surge that depletes personal protective equipment supplies could be forced to choose between treating patients and complying with the standard. (AHA News article, 3/11/21)