Washington, D.C. – On May 28, CWS sent a letter to the House Education and Labor Committee’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections for their hearing, “Examining the Federal Government’s Actions to Protect Workers from COVID-19.”
In the letter, CWS advised Congress against passing legislation that would, at this time, require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, CWS encouraged Congress to allow OSHA to continue to utilize the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s General Duty Clause in conjunction with the latest industry-specific guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CWS believes this approach provides the agility employers and employees need to implement safe practices as they seek the most up-to-date information in our rapidly evolving understanding of the crisis.