The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reportedly is considering expanding the scope of its pending COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard for health care facilities to include some types of construction work performed within such facilities.
The OSHA COVID-19 ETS in its originally proposed form only would apply to the health care industry and did not contain any explicit provisions related to construction activities. However, it contained a vague reference to additional “potential provisions or approaches” to a final rule that might include requiring coverage for workers engaged in construction activities inside a hospital or other health care facility that is the same as coverage for workers engaged in maintenance or custodial tasks in a facility. However, the agency did not include any provisions specific to such maintenance work or custodial tasks within health care facilities in the original proposal.
Given this possible regulatory action, NRCA continues to work with the Construction Industry Safety Coalition in opposing any such expansion of the COVID-19 ETS for the health care industry that would apply to construction work within health care facilities. As noted in comments submitted to OSHA by the Construction Industry Safety Coalition in April 2022, expanding the final rule to apply to construction is unnecessary and counterproductive with respect to protecting workers against exposure to COVID-19, as well as likely impermissible under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
More recently, NRCA Vice President of Risk Management Cheryl Ambrose joined members of the coalition to meet with OSHA and other regulatory officials to express strong opposition to any inclusion of construction activities in the final rule applicable to the health care industry. NRCA will continue working to convey the views and concerns of the roofing industry and inform members about developments regarding this and other important regulatory issues.
