CISC: Don’t Include Construction in Healthcare ETS

(May 11, 2022) - SC&RA, as part of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition, recently submitted comments in response to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s request for additional comment on its potential provisions or approaches to a final “Occupational Exposure to COVID-19 in Healthcare Settings” Rule, 87 Fed. Reg. 16426. The comments stated that any attempts by OSHA to expand the ETS to cover construction is not supported by the evidence and would be impermissible under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Previously, the Coalition commented in August 2021 in support of the Agency’s original determination not to include the construction industry within the scope of this rule. The Coalition stated, “An expansion of the Occupational Exposure to COVID-19 in Healthcare Settings Rule is inappropriate and expanding the rule to cover employers in low-risk industries, like construction, only months after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing: Emergency Temporary Standard was not authorized by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, is bewildering.” 

The CISC is comprised of 30 trade associations representing virtually every aspect of the construction industry and was formed to provide data and information to OSHA on regulatory, interpretive, and policy initiatives. The CISC speaks for small, medium, and large contractors; general contractors; subcontractors; and union contractors alike and represents all sectors of the construction industry, including commercial building, heavy industrial production, home building, road repair, specialty trade contractors and material suppliers. For more information, contact Beth O’Quinn.