November 11, 2021

What is the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard for Healthcare?

On November 11, 2021 by Jonathan Lips

When OSHA’s Nov. 5 COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (the “Vaccine ETS”) indicates that it does not apply to workplaces that are subject to the requirements of a broader COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard (the “Healthcare ETS”) that OHSA released in June 2021.

The Healthcare ETS applies to workplace settings where any employee provides healthcare services or healthcare support services, including employees in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, among others.

As we wrote earlier this week, the Healthcare ETS will expire on Dec. 21, unless OSHA takes action to extend it. But the standard is still in effect now, and we have received member requests for more information about it.

What does the Healthcare ETS require?

OHSA has developed a summary of the Healthcare ETS, which provides a good overview. The standards fall into several different categories:

• Administrative requirements, including the development of a written COVID-19 plan that is based on a workplace hazard assessment and designation of workplace safety coordinator(s);
• Core infection control practices, including patient screening and management, standard and transmission-based precautions, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and physical distancing;
• Respiratory protection standards;
• Physical environment standards, including cleaning and disinfection, use of physical barriers in some situations where distancing is not possible, and ventilation;
• Health screening and medical management of staff cases and exposures, including screening, notification of exposures, and removing employees with suspected or confirmed cases, or who have had a high-risk exposure; and
• Employment policies, including providing reasonable time and paid leave for vaccinations and vaccine side effects and continuing to pay employees in most circumstances when they are restricted from work due to COVID.

Many of the ETS requirements are closely aligned to the infection prevention, and control standards providers have been implementing throughout the pandemic, based on CDC and MDH guidance. However, there are requirements in the ETS that go beyond those practices and may be new for some providers, such as the employment policies noted above.

Resources

OSHA has posted several tools on its resources page to assist employers in compliance, including a sample plan, a sample workplace risk assessment, an OHSA overview webinar, and more. And LeadingAge has posted a webinar update on the Healthcare ETS to its Learning Hub, which is available at no cost to members of LeadingAge, our national affiliate.