AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the Denial by the D.C. Appeals Court of a COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS):
We are very disappointed that three judges did not deem the lives of America’s workers worthy of holding an argument or issuing a full opinion. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s post-it length response to our petition acknowledges the “unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic” but repeats the false claim by Big Business that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration already has done what is needed to protect workers. In fact, none of the other “regulatory tools,” short of an ETS, require employers to do anything at all. More than 2 million of America’s working people are infected, and more than 110,000 have died. An unprecedented pandemic calls for unprecedented action, and the court’s action today fell woefully short of fulfilling its duty to ensure that the Occupational Safety and Health Act is enforced.
Contact: Kalina Newman (202) 637-5018