The Necessity of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard

OSHA has yet to determine if an emergency standard is needed and hasn’t announced a timeframe for releasing the standard if one is justified. President Biden in a January 21st Executive Order said he expected a decision from the agency by March 15th, which did not occur.  The safety standard would address worker conditions during COVID-19, and public health officials warn of a fourth wave of COVID-19, but as of April 1st, 16.9% of the U.S. population was fully vaccinated and 30% of the population was at least partially vaccinated. The U.S. is averaging about 2.9 million vaccine shots per day and at that rate the nation would reach a 75% vaccination level in July.