Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, named on Jan. 7 as the prospective nominee to head the U.S. Department of Labor under the Biden administration, is expected to make infectious disease prevention a key objective as unions continue to call for a COVID-19 standard, experts say.

While Mr. Walsh would be the first former union head to helm the department in five decades, his other work history and mayoral record make it likely that he will be willing to compromise with business leaders on developing such an emergency temporary standard, experts say.

Despite his “very genuine labor credentials,” Mr. Walsh is well-liked and respected by both pro-labor and pro-business groups, said Eric Conn, Washington-based founding partner of Conn Maciel Carey LLP.

“I think he’s kind of a classic Joe Biden pick,” he said, noting that Mr. Walsh appeals to moderate Democrats as well as the more progressive wing of the party because of his labor background.

“Mayor Walsh has been somewhat of a consensus builder,” said David Klass, partner in the Charlotte, North Carolina, office of law firm Fisher Phillips LLP. “Even though he comes from a union background, he does have a history of working with multiple stakeholders.”

Mr. Walsh spent several years as the head of the Boston Metropolitan District Building Trades Council before being elected mayor in 2014.

Union groups such as the AFL-CIO have released statements of support for Mr. Walsh to lead the Department of Labor, but trade groups have also voiced their commitment to working with Mr. Walsh. The 21,000-member trade group Associated Builders and Contractors said it looked “forward to working with a leader who has an extensive career in construction and experience in local government.”

If confirmed, the first priority for Mr. Walsh is likely to be the appointment of a deputy secretary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a position that has been vacant for the past four years.

“I think we’re going to see a deputy assistant secretary nominated within the first week of the administration,” Mr. Conn said.

Deborah Roy, Falmouth, Maine-based president of SafeTech Consultants Inc. and president-elect of the American Society of Safety Professionals, said OSHA has “really suffered without having leadership for such a long period of time.”

“I think the first priority really still needs to be the pandemic … (to) quickly get a leader in place who has the opportunity to really work with the (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and come up with more specific guidance for employers,” she said.

Several names have been floated for the OSHA role, including Doug Park, current leader of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health; Debbie Berkowitz, head of the National Employment Law Project; David Michaels, who served as the head of OSHA under the Obama administration; and Jim Frederick, who helped lead health and safety for the United Steelworkers for 25 years, and has been endorsed by the National Safety Council, American Society of Safety Professionals and the American Industrial Hygiene Association.

Once that position is filled, the first order of business is likely to be the implementation of a COVID-19 emergency temporary standard, a task that would generally fall on the leader of OSHA, experts say.

Although several states — including California, Michigan, Oregon and Virginia — have issued their own emergency temporary standards for COVID-19 protections in the workplace, OSHA has declined to do so, prompting a federal lawsuit filed by the AFL-CIO to compel the agency to do so.

Safety groups, such as the NSC, have also been vocal about the need for a standard to provide consistent workplace safety protocols rather than a “patchwork of recommendations in various states,” said Lorraine Martin, president and CEO of NSC.

“The template has been set for … what such a standard would encompass,” Mr. Klass said. “The Biden administration and Mayor Walsh will have a road map for what they’re looking to include in such a standard, and I would expect that to be their No. 1 priority under a soon-to-be Secretary Walsh.”

More insurance and workers compensation news on the coronavirus crisis here.