States, Localities Filling Federal Void With Virus Safety Rules

Federal safety officials aren’t issuing a national coronavirus exposure rule, so state and local governments are taking matters into their own hands by enacting Covid-19 workplace protection mandates.

They’re using a range of agencies—from state safety inspectors to city health and building departments—to enforce the hodgepodge of executive orders, state laws, and local ordinances created in the absence of federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulatory action.

The mixture of requirements means employers must carefully follow frequently changing orders and guidance.

“It can be huge task just to keep up with, understand, and track all the changes at those different ...