Covid-19 Regulation Still on Agenda, OSHA Chief Doug Parker Says

The most urgent rulemaking for the federal government’s worker safety agency is enacting a permanent Covid-19 standard for the health-care industry, OSHA chief Doug Parker told Bloomberg Law.

“It’s the occupational hazard of our time and we’ll continue to treat it like that as long as necessary,” Parker said of Covid-19 in a Feb. 10 exclusive interview.

Parker, the assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health sworn in on Nov. 3, discussed the rulemaking during a wide-ranging discussion that included questions about the need to increase the number of Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors and the agency’s ...