The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will publish new guidelines for businesses next week. In a January executive order, Biden gave the agency a March 15 deadline to decide whether mandatory safety rules were needed to protect workers from the coronavirus. Has any government agency ever caused new restrictions on businesses during a democratic government?
Many governors and local officials are in the process of opening up their states after a year of lockdowns, so what better time for the government to step in and stamp these moves? Last night in speaking to the nation on the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus in the United States, Biden paid lip service to entrepreneurs who lost their businesses during the pandemic. He did not say OSHA would meet the deadline imposed by an executive order from Biden during his second day in the Oval Office. The new guidelines on how businesses should operate during the pandemic should be temporary. Unfortunately, we know that it is rare for government measures to be temporary. Businesses need to brace themselves for what’s to come as they try to get back on their feet. Democrats and unions have reportedly been calling for these regulations since the start of the pandemic. Joe Biden has never met a union he did not want to appease.
The regulations are designed to protect workers from COVID-19. OSHA has not issued a temporary emergency standard for reference since 1983.
The emergency ordinance is expected to mandate at least the CDC and OSHA guidelines – which recommend that employees wear masks and maintain a distance of six feet even after vaccination – as well as other specific steps employers must take to protect their employees. protect against exposure to the coronavirus.
Masks and social distancing are already done by most companies. OSHA is expected to require masks to be of higher quality, e.g. N95, and upgrade ventilation systems. You can see where this is going – additional financial costs for companies already struggling to keep going until they can fully reopen again. There will also be enforcement and auditing by OSHA, with Congress providing additional funding for that. Democrats spent $ 75 million on OSHA in their stimulus that Biden signed into law on Thursday. Owners will be fined for not following the rules.
“Without one [emergency temporary standard], it is very difficult for OSHA to require employers to take preventive action, ”David Michaels, the former OSHA chief during the Obama administration, told lawmakers Thursday. “If workplace exposure is not controlled, more workers – along with members of their families and communities – will become infected, resulting in more morbidity and mortality and the nation’s ability to resume economic growth in endangers. “
Additional mandates beyond current recommendations may lie ahead: At the hearing where Michaels appeared, health and safety experts urged the CDC to recognize in its guidelines that the virus can be spread via aerosols, as opposed to larger droplets .
Pascaline Muhindura, a registered nurse affiliated with the National Nurses United union, argued for this at Thursday’s hearing, telling lawmakers that the hospital where she worked was unable to provide her and her colleagues with proper protective equipment, which “ led to many Covid-19 infections and eventually the death of one of my colleagues. “
That’s right, employers are blamed for having blood on their hands. When Biden started his speech last night, you may recall taking a swipe at Trump without actually speaking his name and essentially accusing him of having blood on his hands as well. “A year ago we were hit by a virus that was answered silently and spread uncontrolled. Days, weeks, and then months of denial led to more deaths, more infections, more stress, and more loneliness. A public health professor took it a step further, saying that “tens of thousands” have been lost due to a lack of regulation.
“It would have been better if it had come six months ago,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of public health at Georgetown Law, who told POLITICO that upcoming regulations are “ethically essential.” “We could have saved tens of thousands of lives of vulnerable workers, but even now there are many lives we can save by properly regulating the work environment”
This will affect red states more quickly than most blue states, as few blue states are taking steps to fully reopen them. Some blue states like New York are now relaxing their restrictions. What the Biden administration will put forward is the opposite of how the Trump administration handled the pandemic. Of course it is, because Biden is determined to be the anti-Trump leader whether the Trump policy worked or not. It is insignificant and it will likely be destructive to many companies, and then the economic recovery of our country in general. Most companies maintain mask mandates for now, even in states that are now fully open. New federal regulations are also likely to violate state regulations.
“I think that’s going to be the biggest concern,” said Larry Lynch, senior vice president of science and industry at the National Restaurant Association. “Cost will be an important factor.”
The discrepancy between federal recommendations and state rules has led some business groups to take a cautious approach as well. The National Restaurant Association says it’s not quite ready to roll back its recommendations on masks.
“While we look across the spectrum of the US and don’t really know exactly when things will change state by state, we’re still going to recommend that restaurants need face masks for employees and require them for guests, with the exception of those who do. food, ”said Lynch of the NRA.
Democrats believe in a great government solution for most situations. Republicans believe in individuals and personal responsibility. This is how it has always been. A one-size-fits-all list with more government regulations won’t help businesses across the country return to a more normal way of operating.