Biden administration releases pared-down workplace safety rule, stopping short of broader mandate

“I am disappointed by both the timing and the scope of this workplace safety standard,” said the committee’s chairman, Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (Va.). “This ETS is long past due, and it provides no meaningful protection to many workers who remain at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19. Workers in meat processing plants, prisons, homeless shelters, grocery stores, and many other workplaces will be forced to continue relying on voluntary safety guidance, which has failed to protect hundreds of thousands of workers and families from preventable infections throughout the pandemic.”