SC&RA-Supported CISC Denied In-Person Meeting with OSHA; Asks for Transparency

(March 10, 2021) - OSHA has informed the Construction Industry Safety Coalition, of which SC&RA is a member, that it is unable to accommodate individual meeting requests from stakeholders regarding how best to protect workers from workplace exposure to COVID-19. In a follow-up letter to OSHA, CISC respectfully asks for more transparency in the process to determine whether an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) is warranted to address COVID-19 in the workplace:

“While OSHA has conducted listening sessions allowing stakeholders to speak for three minutes, these listening sessions have not been widely advertised and are available only to stakeholders that receive a direct invitation from OSHA. This limits OSHA’s insights to only those groups with which it has already established lines of communication and bars other stakeholders from having an opportunity to provide input and feedback on OSHA’s regulatory process…OSHA has also declined individual meetings and is not accepting written public comments…Respectfully, this is not a transparent process. By taking this position, OSHA is depriving itself of useful information from stakeholders with experience in dealing with the pandemic…We urge OSHA to reconsider its process.”

The CISC is concerned with the possible issuance of an ETS at this time to address COVID-19 in the construction industry, particularly given the sharply declining case counts, the low-risk nature of construction work, and the ever-changing nature of the pandemic. The CISC is also concerned that certain provisions OSHA might include in a COVID-19 standard would be unworkable in construction and would fail to consider the unique characteristics of the construction industry.

The CISC is comprised of 30 trade associations representing virtually every aspect of the
construction industry. For more information, contact Beth O’Quinn.