Health-Care Covid Rule Hearing Highlights Employer-Union Gap

A new Covid-19 safety standard for the health-care industry willl either create confusion for employers or ensure workers are protected, opposing witnesses told OSHA officials Wednesday, the first of four days of public hearings on creating permanent regulations to replace their embattled, temporary predecessors.

The day-long online session focused on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s proposal to issue a permanent Covid-19 standard for health care later this year. OSHA quit enforcing its temporary version of the rule on Dec. 27 but maintains the standard hasn’t lapsed.

Discussion and debate over the regulation comes as the pandemic waxes and ...