Statement from AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler on the urgent need for a permanent workplace standard to protect health care workers from COVID-19:
The AFL-CIO is disappointed by today’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declining to order the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a permanent standard for health care workers, leaving discretion with the agency to do so. This ruling comes at a time when U.S. health care worker deaths from COVID-19 are at the highest point since early 2021.
Since the start of the pandemic, America’s labor movement has fought to protect the lives and livelihoods of millions of health care care workers who face serious risk of contracting COVID-19 on the job.
OSHA should swiftly complete and issue the permanent rule it announced in December when OSHA stopped enforcing emergency protections, and return to enforcing emergency protections until the permanent rule is issued. America’s unions are eager to continue to work with OSHA to get this done.
Contact: Kalina Newman, 202-637-5018