OSHA sent a COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review on Monday night, and it could become effective in as little as two weeks.
The OMB review, which is expected to take about two weeks, is the first step required before an ETS would be released publicly and go into effect.
If the ETS passes the OMB review and is published, it is likely to take effect immediately, according to Politico.
These new rules are expected “to require employers to supply their workers with masks, have a written plan to avert exposure in the workplace and take other precautions that could kick up complaints from businesses over costs as more states relax pandemic restrictions.”
The ETS, which OSHA was supposed to have ready back in March, is the first the agency has introduced since 1983 when one was created as an amendment to existing rules on asbestos in the workplace.
