Court Jurisdiction Over OSHA Covid Rule in Play at D.C. Circuit

Health-care workers continue to face a grave danger from Covid-19 and need the immediate protection of a permanent OSHA standard, a lawyer for a group of unions told a federal appeals court Monday.

But the panel of three judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit raised questions about the court’s jurisdiction to set enforcement priorities for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The unions, including the AFL-CIO and National Nurses United, brought the case directly to the appeals court to force the workplace safety agency to within 30 days of a court order make ...