Oregon OSHA to create safety standard for COVID-19

The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division has released plans to create a COVID-19 workplace safety standard that could be a permanent standard for infectious diseases, according to a timeline made public Friday. 

“As a result of both the immediate and long-term risks highlighted by the current public and occupational health crisis, Oregon OSHA is responding to the request that the state adopt an enforceable workplace health rule on an emergency basis this summer, to be replaced by a permanent rule,” the timeline states.

This timeline revealed plans for two “essentially different projects, in both nature and scope, recognizing that an ongoing infectious disease rule would not be as closely tailored to the current crisis as would a temporary rule.” 

Officials plan to begin a series of meetings among stakeholders starting the week of July 6 and will continue the process for the remainder of the year, with a call for public input on a temporary standard proposal beginning the week of July 27. A draft of a permanent standard would then be introduced the week of Nov. 2. Officials plan to have that new rule in place by Feb. 22, 2021.