Oregon Turns to Rulemaking for Worker Covid-19 Protections

Oregon could become the second state to enact rules specifically intended to protect workers from coronavirus infections.

Oregon Occupational Safety and Health aims to enact two emergency temporary rules by Sept. 1 after public meetings, an agency spokesman said Friday.

One rule would cover health-care providers, such as hospitals, while the other rule would address protecting employees in manufacturing, retail, construction, and other general industries. The temporary rules would stay in effect until March 1, 2021, when they would be replaced by permanent regulations, according to the state’s timeline.

The announcement came two days after Virginia’s Safety and Health Codes ...