Virginia Workplace Covid-19 Protection Rule Takes Effect Jan. 27

Virginia’s first-in-the-nation permanent rule protecting workers from on-the-job Covid-19 infections is expected to take effect Jan. 27, state officials said.

The standard becomes enforceable when it appears in a Richmond, Va., newspaper, an action scheduled for Jan. 27, according to Jay Withrow, who oversees regulatory issues for Virginia Occupational Safety and Health. The permanent measure replaces an emergency rule expiring Jan. 26 that had been in effect for six months.

The text of the new measure states that it will remain in place until Virginia’s Covid-19 state of emergency is declared over by the governor—currently Democrat Ralph Northam, whose term ...