The U.S. Department of Labor announced that OSHA has terminated its COVID-19 healthcare rulemaking.
Back in June of 2021, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard to reduce COVID-19 effects among workers in healthcare settings. This also served as a proposed rule on which OSHA requested comments. The agency received public comments through multiple periods and heard input through public hearings on this proposal from June 2021 through May 2022. OSHA submitted a final draft to the White House in Dec of 2022. In April 2023, President Biden signed into law House Joint Resolution 7, which terminated the COVID-19 Pandemic National Emergency.
By terminating the COVID-19 rulemaking, OSHA wishes to focus its resources on the completion of an Infectious Diseases Rulemaking for Healthcare to more effectively and efficiently use agency resources to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19, and other infectious diseases.
Employers should understand that while this rulemaking has been terminated, there is and may be other rulemaking directed at the health of workers in the future.