After weeks of delay, the Labor Department has sent a draft of emergency workplace safety rules aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 to the Office of Management and Budget.  The standards had been targeted for release on March 15, until Labor Secretary Marty Walsh requested additional layers of review of the rules. 

The latest move came late Monday, a DOL spokesperson told Politico.

“OSHA has been working diligently on its proposal and has taken the appropriate time to work with its science-agency partners, economic agencies, and others in the U.S. government to get this proposed emergency standard right,” the spokesperson told the media outlet.

Health experts expect that the mandate, which will be issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and is aimed at most non-healthcare settings, will require employers to supply their workers with masks, have a written plan to avert exposure in the workplace and adopt retaliation protections for workers who raise coronavirus-related concerns.

Lawmakers and worker advocates have criticized the delay, which has meant the absence of any federal statute requiring employers to enact precautions protecting workers against the airborne transmission of pathogens. The absence of an enforceable safety standard was a key factor in OSHA’s inability to protect workers, the Labor Department’s inspector general reported earlier this year. The agency has also been criticized by worker safety advocates for not doing enough in response to worker safety complaints from long-term care employees last year.

New CDC guidance lifts many restrictions for fully vaccinated residents and LTC workers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday released new guidance that allows fully vaccinated nursing home residents to resume dining activities and allows for visitations and personal contact among residents and visitors who are fully vaccinated, without masking or social distancing restrictions. 

The guidelines noted, however, that social distancing and mask wearing is still recommended when any unvaccinated resident is participating.