tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/occupational-safety-and-health-administration-82129/articlesOccupational Safety and Health Administration – The Conversation2022-01-14T19:28:50Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1749982022-01-14T19:28:50Z2022-01-14T19:28:50ZWhat Supreme Court’s block of vaccine mandate for large businesses will mean for public health: 4 questions answered<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440893/original/file-20220114-19-1vlcd02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=41%2C82%2C5483%2C3594&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New York City's vaccine mandates are unaffected by the court ruling.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakNYCVaccineMandate/b861c05810224abcaea350d87f73ec09/photo?Query=vaccine%20mandate&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=823&currentItemNo=32">AP Photo/Mary Altaffer</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13, 2022, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/13/politics/supreme-court-vaccine-mandate-covid-19/index.html">blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate</a>, which applied to virtually all private companies with 100 of more employees. But it left in place a narrower mandate that requires health care workers at facilities receiving federal funds to get vaccinated. The ruling comes at a time when the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalization rates <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home">continues to soar throughout the United States</a> as a result of the omicron variant.</em> </p>
<p><em>We asked <a href="https://zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/faculty-profile/debbie-kaminer/">Debbie Kaminer</a>, a professor of law at Baruch College, CUNY, to explain the ruling’s impact.</em></p>
<h2>1. What did the Supreme Court decide?</h2>
<p>The court’s six conservative justices <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a244_hgci.pdf">held that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration exceeded</a> its power in issuing the mandate on private companies, which would have covered <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/biden-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-announcement/">about 80 million workers</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a244_hgci.pdf">majority opinion</a> distinguished between workplace safety and occupational health, determining that “although COVID-19 is a risk that occurs in many workplaces, it is not an occupational hazard in most,” as it can spread wherever people gather. The majority also expressed concern that the mandate was a “blunt instrument” and did not distinguish “based on industry or risk of exposure to COVID-19.”</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a244_hgci.pdf#page=17">three liberal judges dissented</a>, arguing that “COVID-19 poses special risks in most workplaces, across the country and across industries.”</p>
<p>At the same time, by a narrower 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court allowed continued enforcement of a mandate requiring health care workers at facilities that receive government funding through Medicare or Medicaid to be vaccinated. <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a240_d18e.pdf">According to the court</a>, this mandate by the Department of Health and Human Services “fits neatly” within the congressional power given to the agency because of the increased risk associated with health care workers becoming ill with COVID-19 and infecting their patients.</p>
<h2>2. How does this affect other worker mandates?</h2>
<p>Despite this Supreme Court ruling, many types of COVID-19 vaccine mandates remain legally enforceable and continue to be an important tool in ensuring Americans get vaccinated. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/mandatory-employee-vaccines-coming-state-near-you">Approximately half of all states</a> have some type of vaccination mandate, and the enforceability of these mandates is not affected by the court’s latest decision. While the Supreme Court limited the authority of administrative agencies, this does not affect the ability of state and local governments to pass laws regulating the health and safety of the public. These mandates most commonly cover health care workers and government employees, while some cover all employees. New York City, for example, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/27/nyregion/nyc-vaccine-mandate.html">recently passed a mandate</a> covering most employees who work in person or interact with the public, and this mandate is not affected by the court’s decision.</p>
<p>Some states and localities have also issued vaccine mandates covering customers in public spaces. For example, New York City <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-us-supreme-court-vaccine-ruling-business-20220113-ew2gfvitdzhrphnr3ex4j2c46m-story.html">has broadly mandated the vaccine</a> at most indoor venues, including restaurants, gyms and theaters. </p>
<p>Many private businesses, on their own authority, require employees to get vaccinated. This includes major companies such as <a href="https://fortune.com/2021/08/23/companies-requiring-vaccines-workers-vaccination-mandatory/">Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Delta Airlines, Google and CVS</a>. The ruling doesn’t affect their legal ability to impose such mandates – though it may make companies that had been mulling a mandate <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/business/dealbook/supreme-court-vaccine-mandates-companies.html">less likely to institute one for their workers</a>.</p>
<p>In all, about 36% of U.S. workers <a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/pages/number-workers-under-vaccine-mandate-levels-off-scotus-osha-ets.aspx">are required by their employers</a> to get vaccinated, according to Society for Human Resource Management, an industry group. </p>
<h2>3. How about school mandates?</h2>
<p>Educational institutions also continue to play an important role in mandating COVID-19 vaccination, and this is not affected by the court’s decision.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/live-coronavirus-updates/heres-a-list-of-colleges-that-will-require-students-to-be-vaccinated-against-covid-19">Over 1,000 universities</a> have some form of vaccine mandate, and in August 2021 the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/08/barrett-leaves-indiana-universitys-vaccine-mandate-in-place/">refused to block Indiana University’s mandate</a>. Unlike the OSHA case, this did not involve the authority of an administrative agency. </p>
<p>Additionally, as a result of the omicron outbreak, a growing number of universities are now also <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/live-coronavirus-updates/heres-a-list-of-colleges-that-will-require-students-to-be-vaccinated-against-covid-19">requiring students, faculty and staff to get the COVID-19 booster</a>.</p>
<p>Some public school districts have mandated the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/nyregion/vaccine-mandate-teachers-nyc.html">vaccine for teachers and other school employees</a>. At least two states, California and Louisiana, have mandated the vaccine for students, but both states have said they will not enforce the mandate until the 2022-2023 school year, and even then, only if the vaccine has full FDA authorization for children. </p>
<p>While COVID-19 vaccine mandates in public schools may be challenged, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/records/schools.html">proof of immunization</a> for other diseases, such as measles, are nothing new. As such, I believe there is a strong chance that COVID-19 vaccine mandates for schools will generally be upheld as constitutional. Before the pandemic, all 50 states already had in place some form of <a href="https://repository.law.wisc.edu/s/uwlaw/media/304807">vaccine mandate for schoolchildren</a>.</p>
<h2>4. Will this affect the government’s ability to protect public health?</h2>
<p>The court’s decision is significant in that it limits the authority of government administrative agencies generally, and specifically limits the power of OSHA to protect public health.</p>
<p>Still, this decision will not meaningfully restrain the government’s ability to fight pandemics more generally, as federal statutes, state and local vaccine mandates, public university mandates and public K-12 school mandates are not affected by the decision. </p>
<p>The Supreme Court essentially determined that because the risk of COVID-19 exists both within as well as outside the workplace, OSHA does not have the authority to generally protect employees across workplaces. In doing so, the majority essentially determined that the court – and not OSHA – is the institution that should make health policy and decide which workplaces are high enough risk that a vaccine mandate is appropriate. </p>
<p>The dissenting justices responded with incredulity: “In the face of a still-raging pandemic, this court tells the agency charged with protecting safety that it cannot respond in the most effective way possible. Without legal basis, the court usurps a decision that rightfully belongs to others.”</p>
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<p>The majority did recognize, however, that “where the virus poses a special danger because of the particular features of an employee’s job or workplace, targeted regulations are plainly permissible.” </p>
<p>It remains to be seen how narrow a government agency mandate must be to be upheld by the Supreme Court. </p>
<p>While the majority of Americans are already fully vaccinated, and <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-covid-19/vaccine-tracker">approximately 75%</a> of all Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, mandates will likely remain an important tool in continuing to fight the pandemic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174998/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Debbie Kaminer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A legal scholar explains what the ruling means for other vaccine mandates and the government’s ability to protect public health.Debbie Kaminer, Professor of Law, Baruch College, CUNYLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1677652021-09-14T12:49:51Z2021-09-14T12:49:51ZWho’s covered by a vaccine mandate? Here’s a quick guide to America’s patchwork of COVID-19 shot requirements<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420901/original/file-20210913-25-1jysscp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=62%2C38%2C5114%2C3011&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tyson Foods is one of the companies that already said it would require workers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakWorkplaceVaccines/58f0a3afbb9946b99e616f952f785dc9/photo?Query=vaccine%20AND%20workplace&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=41&currentItemNo=26">John Konstantaras/AP Images for Tyson Foods</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>President Joe Biden’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/">orders requiring vaccinations</a> for about two-thirds of the U.S. workforce add to a patchwork of vaccine mandates aimed at pushing more people to get their shots and bring the pandemic under control. </p>
<p>The president had largely resisted issuing federal mandates, but in recent months, many states, companies and schools have issued their own mandates in order to inoculate reluctant or resistant Americans. </p>
<p>Currently <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/09/09/remarks-by-president-biden-on-fighting-the-covid-19-pandemic-3/">nearly 80 million vaccine-eligible Americans</a> have yet to get a single dose, according to the White House. Health experts believe this <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/24/cdc-study-shows-unvaccinated-people-are-29-times-more-likely-to-be-hospitalized-with-covid.html">helped the delta variant thrive</a> in many parts of the country over the summer.</p>
<p>“The unvaccinated overcrowd our hospitals … leaving no room for someone with a heart attack or pancreatitis or cancer,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/us/politics/biden-vaccine-mandates-transcript.html">Biden said in a speech on Sept. 9, 2021, announcing the new orders</a>. “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us.”</p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/faculty-profile/debbie-kaminer/">law professor</a> who has written about the legal questions around vaccination laws. While it’s unclear how many people in total are covered by the overlapping vaccine mandates, they most likely now affect a significant majority of eligible Americans.</p>
<h2>Biden’s new orders</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/">newest vaccine requirements</a> cover <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/how-will-bidens-vaccine-mandate-impact-workers-companies-2021-09-13/">over 100 million workers in total</a> – and it’s unknown how many of these people remain unvaccinated.</p>
<p>The biggest part of Biden’s orders involve having the Occupational Safety and Health Administration develop a rule that companies with 100 or more employees ensure their workers are fully vaccinated or are tested weekly for COVID-19. Although less than 2% of U.S. companies have 100 or more employees, according to <a href="https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2018/econ/susb/2018-susb-annual.html">recent Census data</a>, they employ over <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/biden-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-announcement/">80 million workers</a>. </p>
<p>The penalty for noncompliance could be fines for the employer of up to US$14,000 per violation.</p>
<p>Biden will also require federal employees, government contractors and health care workers who treat patients on Medicare and Medicaid to get vaccinated – about 20 million people – with no option to undergo frequent testing instead. </p>
<p>In addition, the new plan urges large entertainment venues like concert halls and sports stadiums to require proof of vaccination for entry and demands companies provide workers with paid time off to get their shots and to recover from possible vaccine-related side effects.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An employee of Katz's Deli in New York City looks down to inspect a customer's vaccination card" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420898/original/file-20210913-17-15g83xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420898/original/file-20210913-17-15g83xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420898/original/file-20210913-17-15g83xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420898/original/file-20210913-17-15g83xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420898/original/file-20210913-17-15g83xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420898/original/file-20210913-17-15g83xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420898/original/file-20210913-17-15g83xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New York City has some of the strictest vaccine requirements in the country.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakNewYork/ba240dcc544d460faed57501afb6348b/photo?Query=vaccination%20AND%20proof&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=163&currentItemNo=43">AP Photo/Mary Altaffer</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>State and local governments</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/mandatory-employee-vaccines-coming-state-near-you">Approximately half of U.S. states</a> have enacted their own COVID-19 vaccine mandates. And in some cases, exemptions may be allowed for medical or religious reasons. </p>
<p>While these mandates differ from state to state, provisions typically cover some combination of government employees and contractors, health care workers, teachers and employees in state-operated settings such as prisons. The majority of these state mandates permit frequent testing and mask-wearing as an alternative to vaccination. </p>
<p>These statewide vaccine mandates exist almost exclusively in states with Democratic governors. <a href="https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/mandatory-employee-vaccines-coming-state-near-you">While Maryland, Massachusetts and Vermont</a>, all of which are <a href="https://www.nga.org/governors/">led by Republicans</a>, also have vaccine mandates, their populations tend to lean liberal.</p>
<p>California and New York City have some of the most rigorous mandates. California, for example, appears to be the only state that <a href="https://kesq.com/news/2021/08/18/california-to-require-vaccination-proof-or-negative-covid-test-for-indoor-events-with-1000-attendees/">requires proof of vaccination</a> of a negative COVID-19 test to attend an indoor event with 1,000 or more people. New York City <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccines-keytonyc.page">requires vaccination</a> for an even wider variety of indoor venues, including restaurants and gyms, regardless of how many people are there.</p>
<p><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/State_government_policies_about_vaccine_requirements_(vaccine_passports)#Recent_news">About 20 states</a>, all of them led by Republican governors, have taken the opposite approach and prohibited vaccine mandates either through legislation or executive orders. Policies vary, but they typically prohibit state agencies from implementing any type of COVID-19 vaccine mandate, prohibit private companies from requiring their customers to be vaccinated, or both. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberleespeakman/2021/08/25/gov-abbot-bans-vaccine-mandates---again/?sh=4cc9f9d51843">Montana</a> is currently the only state that prohibits private employers from mandating the vaccine for their employees. </p>
<p>The new federal vaccine mandates would preempt some of these state laws and are likely to face legal challenges. </p>
<h2>Universities and schools</h2>
<p>Many educational institutions have also played an important role in mandating the vaccine. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/live-coronavirus-updates/heres-a-list-of-colleges-that-will-require-students-to-be-vaccinated-against-covid-19">Over 1,000 U.S. universities</a> have some form of a vaccine mandate for students, employees or both, including many large public universities. Beyond the usual exemptions for medical or religious reasons, some of these mandates also exclude students learning entirely remotely.</p>
<p>In August 2021, the United States <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/08/barrett-leaves-indiana-universitys-vaccine-mandate-in-place/">Supreme Court refused to block Indiana University’s</a> vaccine mandate that covered virtually all students and employees and included both religious and medical exemptions. For that reason, I believe similar vaccine mandates at other universities will also likely withstand constitutional scrutiny.</p>
<p>At the grade school level, just <a href="https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/where-teachers-are-required-to-get-vaccinated-against-covid-19/2021/08">two states, Oregon and Washington</a>, have mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for almost all K-12 school employees, while another seven require that teachers and other employees either be vaccinated or undergo regular testing. </p>
<p>In most states, however, vaccine mandates <a href="https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/where-teachers-are-required-to-get-vaccinated-against-covid-19/2021/08">are being determined at the local level</a> – some cities or districts are passing mandates despite a state law that explicitly prohibits them. An ongoing survey of 100 large urban school districts around the country <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/13/upshot/schools-testing-vaccines-biden.html">found that a quarter</a> require teachers to be vaccinated.</p>
<p>Los Angeles is the only major school district in the country that <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-education-los-angeles-coronavirus-pandemic-969ac9c8c83b3518619d4ecccff583dd">requires eligible students 12 and older to get vaccinated</a> against COVID-19.</p>
<p>Vaccine mandates for schoolchildren are hardly new, however. Prior to the pandemic, <a href="https://repository.law.wisc.edu/s/uwlaw/media/304807">every state in the nation had some form of mandatory vaccination requirement</a> for K-12 students. </p>
<h2>Private businesses</h2>
<p>Before the new rule covering private businesses, many companies had already decided to require their workers receive their shots. </p>
<p>Earlier in the year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-and-ada-rehabilitation-act-and-other-eeo-laws">gave companies the green light</a> that they could adopt mandatory vaccination policies as long as they remained in compliance with antidiscrimination laws.</p>
<p>While companies were initially slow to require vaccines, that changed recently after the Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to the Pfizer vaccine on Aug. 23. <a href="https://fortune.com/2021/08/23/companies-requiring-vaccines-workers-vaccination-mandatory/">Dozens of businesses</a>, including Walmart, Goldman Sachs and Google, now require employees to be vaccinated. </p>
<p>Health experts still don’t know how many more people need to be vaccinated to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. But the mandates, if upheld by courts, will likely help the U.S. get closer.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Debbie Kaminer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Overlapping vaccine mandates at the federal, state and local levels aims to reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans.Debbie Kaminer, Professor of Law, Baruch College, CUNYLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1525722021-02-26T13:24:41Z2021-02-26T13:24:41ZMeatpacking plants have been deadly COVID-19 hot spots – but policies that encourage workers to show up sick are legal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385950/original/file-20210223-18-w2re0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5400%2C3661&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nearly 1,000 workers at this Smithfield Foods pork-processing plant in South Dakota contracted COVID-19 between mid-March and mid-April 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sign-for-the-smithfield-foods-pork-processing-plant-in-news-photo/1210647867?adppopup=true">Kerem Yucel / AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Working in meatpacking plants has <a href="https://www.osha.gov/meatpacking">always been dangerous</a>. A recent study shows that it became deadlier in the era of COVID-19, even as company profits soared. </p>
<p>This analysis, published in December 2020, estimates that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2010115117">6%-8% of all COVID-19 cases and 3%-4% of all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S.</a> through July 21, 2020 were tied to meat and poultry plants. Workers in these facilities stand close together on processing lines, which makes social distancing difficult.</p>
<p>At the same time, companies like <a href="https://www.tysonfoods.com/news/news-releases/2020/11/tyson-foods-reports-strong-fourth-quarter-and-fiscal-2020-results">Tyson</a>, which produces chicken, beef and pork, and <a href="https://www.thepigsite.com/news/2020/11/jbs-posts-higher-than-expected-quarterly-profit-defying-estimates">JBS</a>, which produces beef and pork, are reporting high earnings despite COVID-related challenges such as plant closures. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=C97MdtkAAAAJ&hl=en">law professor</a> and have written about links between lax state and federal <a href="https://worklawcovid19book.netlify.app/meatpacking.html">enforcement of health and safety laws</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2010115117">increased</a> rates of <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5956e16e6b8f5b8c45f1c216/t/5f445e5ca7b21825e9add2b3/1598316124697/Chp26_COVIDPolicyPlaybook-Aug2020.pdf">COVID-19</a> infections and deaths. Thanks to punitive attendance rules and Trump administration policies, meat- and poultry-processing workers have been unnecessarily exposed to COVID-19. In my view, the best way to protect them is to reform laws that prioritize production over workers’ health.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ba5StXhy_PY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Meat and poultry workers began calling for better protection early in the COVID-19 pandemic.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sick on the job</h2>
<p>Meat- and poultry-processing companies’ standard attendance policies were <a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2020/10/20/meatpacking-workers-say-attendance-policy-forces-them-to-work-with-potential-covid-19-symptoms/">punitive even before the pandemic</a>. Companies issued points for employees who missed work and fired those who accumulated too many points. These policies are still in place.</p>
<p>Workers at Tyson and JBS plants are required to go to work even if they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or <a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2020/10/20/meatpacking-workers-say-attendance-policy-forces-them-to-work-with-potential-covid-19-symptoms/">awaiting test results</a>. The companies excuse absences for COVID-19 only if a worker has tested positive for the virus, or in Tyson’s case, has “<a href="https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2020/jun/04/pre-virus-attendance-policy-back-at-tys/">documented clinical symptoms</a>.” Tyson and JBS workers have told reporters that costs and wait times make it hard for them to access testing, so they <a href="https://www.wisfarmer.com/story/news/2020/11/03/attendance-policy-forces-sick-employees-work-meatpacking-plants/6147299002/">go to work sick</a>.</p>
<p>That said, both companies have taken steps to control the spread of COVID-19 at their plants. Tyson <a href="https://www.tysonfoods.com/news/news-releases/2020/12/tyson-foods-goes-offense-against-new-waves-covid-19-safety-measures">hired medical professionals</a>, cleans its plants daily and monitors social distancing. <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/02/01/962877199/meatpacking-companies-osha-face-investigation-over-coronavirus-in-plants">JBS</a> now offers unlimited personal protective equipment and tests symptomatic workers and close contacts. However, even with safety protocols, the virus can spread in the workplace if infected employees come to work. </p>
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<h2>Meat and poultry plants as ‘critical infrastructure’</h2>
<p>As COVID-19 spread in the spring of 2020, then-President Donald Trump signed an <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-05-01/pdf/2020-09536.pdf">executive order</a> that included language <a href="https://perma.cc/8TAP-ZSRA">provided by meat trade associations</a> designating meat and poultry plants as critical infrastructure under the Defense Production Act. The order directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure that meat and poultry processing facilities stayed open or that they reopened as soon as possible during the pandemic to prevent meat shortages. </p>
<p>In May 2020, COVID-19 infections among meat- and poultry-processing workers more than tripled, and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/pdfs/mm6927-H.pdf">the number of deaths quadrupled</a>. Still, <a href="https://worklawcovid19book.netlify.app/meatpacking.html">with the USDA’s help</a>, companies invoked the executive order to maintain operations. For example, in Cold Spring, Minnesota, a Pilgrim’s Pride plant that processes chicken stayed open because of Trump’s order even though worker infections spiked from <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-hot-spot-minnesota-connected-surge-cases-meatpacking-plant-n1206176">83 on May 8 to 194 on May 11</a>.</p>
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<h2>Profits and lawsuits</h2>
<p>On Nov. 17, 2020, Tyson announced net income of <a href="https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2103353545279/tyson-foods-shares-rise-after-earnings-beat-2021-dividend-announced">US$692 million</a> for the fourth quarter of 2020, up from $369 million for the same period in 2019. <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/investing/tyson-foods-tops-q4-earnings-forecast-sees-2021-sales-gains">Tyson stock</a> traded at $1.81 per share, up 49.5% from the same period in 2019. This was a result of increased production. To date, over <a href="https://thefern.org/2020/04/mapping-covid-19-in-meat-and-food-processing-plants">12,500 Tyson workers</a> have been infected with COVID-19. </p>
<p>Tyson currently <a href="https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/amended-complaint-tyson-1605748137.pdf">faces a lawsuit</a> for a COVID-19 outbreak at a plant in Waterloo, Iowa that has <a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2020/11/18/lawsuit-tyson-managers-bet-money-on-how-many-workers-would-contract-covid-19/">sickened at least 1,000 workers</a> and killed five. The <a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2020/11/18/lawsuit-tyson-managers-bet-money-on-how-many-workers-would-contract-covid-19/">wrongful death lawsuit</a> filed by the <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2020/10/06/tyson-foods-sued-over-columbus-junction-workers-covid-19-death-iowa/3636300001/">families of three deceased employees</a> charges that the company required workers – including some who were transferred from facilities with COVID-19 outbreaks – to work long hours in cramped conditions. </p>
<p>For its part, JBS reported <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brazils-jbs-turns-581-2-015514838.html">$581.2 million</a> in net profits in the third quarter of 2020, beating analysts’ forecasts. On Sept. 12, 2020, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the company $15,615 due to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-greeley-colorado-denver-f46d59db7b8d45898e975510cdd0ae0a">six deaths</a> and 290 COVID-19 infections in its Greeley, Colorado plant. </p>
<p>Commenting on the fine, two former federal regulators noted that the Trump administration could have <a href="https://tcf.org/content/report/halting-workplace-covid-19-transmission-urgent-proposal-protect-american-workers/">punished JBS much more severely</a> if it had penalized the company for violations at multiple plants and designated them as willful violations. In <a href="https://www.cpr.org/2020/11/25/meatpacking-giant-jbs-battles-new-coronavirus-outbreaks-at-greeley-plant-and-corporate-offices/">November 2020</a>, 32 new infections were confirmed at the Greeley plant. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386250/original/file-20210224-13-7nhby7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Marty Walsh testifies at his Senate confirmation hearing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386250/original/file-20210224-13-7nhby7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386250/original/file-20210224-13-7nhby7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386250/original/file-20210224-13-7nhby7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386250/original/file-20210224-13-7nhby7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386250/original/file-20210224-13-7nhby7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386250/original/file-20210224-13-7nhby7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386250/original/file-20210224-13-7nhby7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">If confirmed as U.S. secretary of labor, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh would be the first union member to hold the post in nearly 50 years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BidenCabinetLabor/d9cd23a0d72243a88a0bdd4b57f3e92f/photo">Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP</a></span>
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<h2>Legal reforms</h2>
<p>Critics argue that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration <a href="https://tcf.org/content/report/halting-workplace-covid-19-transmission-urgent-proposal-protect-american-workers/">has not adequately enforced</a> workplace health and safety laws during the pandemic. Trump’s executive order <a href="https://worklawcovid19book.netlify.app/meatpacking.html">limited OSHA’s authority to enforce the laws</a> and authorized the Department of Agriculture to keep meat and poultry plants open despite outbreaks. Even with stronger enforcement, however, punitive attendance policies still could increase infection rates by requiring workers to go to work sick.</p>
<p>President Joe Biden issued an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/21/executive-order-protecting-worker-health-and-safety/">executive order</a> on Jan. 21, 2021, directing the Department of Labor to issue stronger guidance on workplace safety during the pandemic. But employers do not have to comply with this guidance, and it does not address punitive attendance policies. </p>
<p>I believe three reforms are needed to fill the gap. First, federal and state agencies could use their legal authority to prohibit punitive attendance policies. Section 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 includes a “<a href="https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/oshact/section5-duties">general duty standard</a>” that requires employers to provide employees with a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious harm. </p>
<p>Although this would be a new use of the “general duty” standard, it would address a recognized hazard that is likely to cause death or serious harm. This is a mandatory requirement that employers already have to comply with and does not require an in-person inspection to enforce.</p>
<p>Second, Biden could withdraw Trump’s executive order classifying meat and poultry plants as critical infrastructure. And the Biden administration could require plants to close down if new outbreaks occur among their workers. </p>
<p>Finally, meat and poultry companies could be required to provide workers with <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jlb/article/7/1/lsaa036/5849058">hazard pay</a>, which should increase if the companies’ net profits rise. As a precedent, <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattles-sudden-hazard-pay-move-shows-how-absent-government-has-been-for-workers-all-along/">Seattle</a>, <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/state-and-local-updates/pages/hazard-pay-for-grocery-workers-is-trending-in-california.aspx">Long Beach, California</a> and Oakland, California all recently adopted hazard pay mandates for grocery workers during the pandemic.</p>
<p>Grocery store chains are challenging the laws, arguing that their profit margins cannot support these payments. But it would be hard for meat and poultry companies to make that argument in light of their recent earnings.</p>
<p>Meatpacking plants emerged as <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6927e2.htm">hot spots of infection</a> early in the COVID-19 pandemic. As of Feb. 24, 2021, more than 57,454 meat- and poultry-processing workers had <a href="https://thefern.org/2020/04/mapping-covid-19-in-meat-and-food-processing-plants/">tested positive for COVID-19</a> and 284 had died. In my view, it is time for legal action to protect meat and poultry workers and compensate them fairly for working in hazardous conditions during this pandemic.</p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to note that the estimates cited for COVID-19 illnesses and deaths at meat and poultry plants as a fraction of all U.S. COVID-19 illnesses and deaths covered the period up through July 21, 2020.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152572/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruqaiijah Yearby does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Thousands of workers at meat- and poultry-processing plants have contracted COVID-19, and hundreds have died. A legal scholar recommends ways to make their jobs safer.Ruqaiijah Yearby, Professor of Law, Saint Louis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1421542020-07-07T12:15:50Z2020-07-07T12:15:50ZCOVID-19: As offices reopen, here’s what to expect if you’re worried about getting sick on the job<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345915/original/file-20200706-3947-1l72ntt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=80%2C171%2C6629%2C4295&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A brave new world. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luis Alvarez/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’re among the tens of millions of people returning to work or preparing to do so after months sheltering in place, you may be worried it will put you and your family at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19.</p>
<p>The dilemma may be especially stark for the millions of Americans who can expect to see a significant cut in their unemployment insurance benefits <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/06/24/unemployment-americans-will-lose-their-extra-600-days-earlier-than-expected/3253111001/">near the end of July</a>, when the US$600 per week subsidy from the federal government is set to expire.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://law.uoregon.edu/people/faculty/tippett">professor specializing in employment law</a>, I don’t have a lot of reassurance to offer. Employment law is a patchwork at the best of times – let alone during a global pandemic – and legal protections may not cover your situation. Like so many of the challenges people are facing right now, you may be mostly on your own, negotiating the least bad of many bad options.</p>
<p>Here is a basic overview of what your options are under some common scenarios.</p>
<p><strong>I’ve been called back to the office, but I don’t like the idea of being in an enclosed space for nine hours a day.</strong></p>
<p>Workers have good reason to worry about indoor spaces, as scientists <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/04/health/239-experts-with-one-big-claim-the-coronavirus-is-airborne.html">increasingly acknowledge</a> that the virus may be airborne. </p>
<p>If you have a medical condition that makes you especially vulnerable to the coronavirus, you may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation under the <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-and-ada-rehabilitation-act-and-other-eeo-laws">Americans with Disabilities Act</a>. That means your employer needs to engage in a dialogue with you to figure out if there is a way to limit your exposure – such as remote work, a temporary reassignment or a modified shift. </p>
<p>Alternatively, <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/05/06/some-states-let-vulnerable-workers-turn-down-jobs">some states</a> are allowing medically vulnerable workers to refuse work and remain on unemployment insurance.</p>
<p>[<em>The Conversation’s newsletter explains what’s going on with the coronavirus pandemic. <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-daily">Subscribe now</a>.</em>]</p>
<p>If the business is opening in defiance of a state or local order, you might be able to file a complaint with a <a href="https://www.osha.gov/stateplans">state workplace health and safety agency</a>. Or you could try negotiating a temporary or intermittent remote work arrangement with your employer.</p>
<p>Everyone else has little choice but to head back to the office.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Law professor Michael Z. Green and the author discuss the difficult choices workers face in returning to work.</span></figcaption>
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<p><strong>I believe I’m being asked to work in unsafe conditions.</strong></p>
<p>If you live in a state or city that has adopted a mask requirement – and your worksite is not allowing or enforcing the mask rules – look into how that requirement is being enforced. In Oregon, for example, the governor has <a href="https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/06/oregon-coronavirus-cases-osha-enforce-gov-brown-face-mask-requirement/5363667002/">tasked</a> the state Occupational Safety and Health Agency with enforcing the rule. By contrast, the Texas governor’s mask order is being enforced – somewhat inconsistently – by <a href="https://www.cbs19.tv/article/news/local/list-which-east-texas-law-enforcement-offices-will-enforce-mask-mandate-and-which-ones-wont/501-8fab494b-a5e9-4b7e-a01f-029687d0376f">local law enforcement</a>.</p>
<p>For other <a href="https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1977/1977.12#1977.12(b)(2)">safety-related concerns</a>, the first thing you are expected to do is talk to your employer about the unsafe condition. Be specific about the condition that concerns you and the fact that you are worried about your safety.</p>
<p>If you are unionized, conveying your concern to the union will enable it to address the problem on behalf of everyone. Even if you’re not unionized, <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/coronavirus-protected-concerted-activity-unions.aspx">banding together</a> with other employees to advocate for safer working conditions is <a href="https://time.com/5832140/going-back-to-work-coronavirus-rights/">protected</a> under the National Labor Relations Act.</p>
<p>If your employer does not address your safety concerns, you can complain to the state workplace safety agency or the local branch of the federal <a href="https://www.osha.gov/stateplans">Occupational Safety and Health Administration</a>. The agency <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article243816822.html">should</a> send an inspector to examine the situation or at least send a letter to the employer inquiring about your complaint.</p>
<p>In the meantime, you should refuse to work only if you have no <a href="https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1977/1977.12#1977.12(b)(2)">“reasonable alternative”</a> and the unsafe condition would pose a “real danger of death or serious injury.”</p>
<p><strong>I have to go to work but have children at home and no child care options.</strong></p>
<p>If you work for a company with fewer than 500 employees, <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-federal-sick-leave-law-whos-eligible-whos-not-and-how-many-weeks-do-you-get-134180">you may be eligible for up to 12 weeks</a> of paid leave under the <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employer-paid-leave">Families First Coronavirus Response Act</a>. But if you’ve been using this leave over the spring or summer, you may be in a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cuomo-says-no-decision-on-whether-new-york-schools-will-reopen-in-the-fall-amid-coronavirus">dicey situation</a> by the fall if schools do not fully reopen. </p>
<p>Beyond those 12 weeks of leave, companies are not required to make accommodations for employee child care issues. But failing to do so can make for <a href="https://tallahasseereports.com/2020/07/02/fsu-reverses-remote-work-policy-after-pushback/">bad PR</a>, as Florida State University discovered when it tried to ban parents from watching their kids while working remotely. </p>
<p><strong>I live with a family member who is in a vulnerable population, and I don’t want to expose the person to the virus.</strong></p>
<p>If you <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employer-paid-leave">need to care</a> for the family member – and work for a company with fewer than 500 employees – you may be eligible for leave under the <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employer-paid-leave">Families First Coronavirus Response Act</a>. Your employer might request documentation that a health care provider advised the family member to self-quarantine.</p>
<p>Otherwise, you may be out of luck – and may not even get <a href="http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/UIPL/UIPL_16-20_Attachment_1.pdf">unemployment insurance</a> if you refuse to work. That may mean doing your best to limit your exposure at work and <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/16/834424572/how-to-stay-healthy-when-your-child-spouse-or-roommate-has-covid-19">transmission at home</a>.</p>
<p><strong>I think I just got sick from exposure to the coronavirus at work.</strong></p>
<p>You should be eligible for two weeks of paid sick leave under the <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employer-paid-leave">Families First Coronavirus Response Act</a> if you work for a company with fewer than 500 employees. If you are still sick after that, you may be eligible for <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla">Family and Medical Leave</a>. You’ll also want to check your company’s sick leave policy.</p>
<p>You might be eligible to file for workers’ compensation, which covers <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2014-110/pdfs/2014-110.pdf">medical costs and provides some wage replacement</a> for workers who are injured because of work. State law varies a lot when it comes to workers’ compensation, including whether infectious diseases like COVID-19 count as a workplace injury. Your claim will also <a href="https://www.ncci.com/Articles/Pages/Insights-Coronavirus-FAQs.aspx">depend on</a> whether you can show that you contracted the coronavirus at work – as opposed to exposure from other places. <a href="https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/evolving-state-responses-to-workers-compensation-amid-covid-19-a-50-state-survey-cv19-lf">Some states</a> are issuing presumptions that certain kinds of front-line workers – like health care workers and first responders – contracted the virus at work.</p>
<p><strong>My company asked me to sign a contract saying I waive my legal rights if I contract COVID-19.</strong></p>
<p>If you are presented with a waiver to return to work, consider asking whether you are required to sign it. Sometimes workplace contracts are actually optional, but you may not find out without asking directly or reading the fine print. </p>
<p>But even if signing is mandatory, workers compensation claims are generally not waivable. In other words, if you contract COVID-19 as a result of a workplace exposure, a waiver form shouldn’t be a barrier to filing a claim and potentially receiving compensation.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/returning-to-work-an-employment-law-expert-explains-your-rights-in-getting-your-boss-to-accommodate-you-and-your-familys-safety-138675">article originally published</a> on May 18, 2020.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142154/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth C. Tippett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Tens of millions of Americans who have been telecommuting during the pandemic are beginning to head back to the office – even though COVID-19 remains a threat.Elizabeth C. Tippett, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1292092020-03-06T13:02:13Z2020-03-06T13:02:13ZWhy having fewer OSHA inspectors matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313790/original/file-20200205-149789-1rzatcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some U.S. workplaces can be dangerous.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/danger-hard-hat-area-safety-warning-77002051">Olivier Le Queinec/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
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<p>In many industries, such as construction, transportation, warehousing and health care, the workplace is dangerous. In 2018 alone, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.toc.htm">5,250 workers died on the job</a>.</p>
<p>In an effort to protect workers from death or injury, Congress created the <a href="https://www.osha.gov">Occupational Safety and Health Administration</a> – better known as OSHA – in 1970, to “assur[e] so far as possible <a href="https://www.oshatrain.org/courses/mods/744m1.html">every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions</a>.”</p>
<p>OSHA inspections successfully improve workers’ physical safety. A 2012 randomized study found that OSHA inspections reduced the number of injuries leading to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1215191">workers’ compensation claims by around 9%</a> and lowered the medical expenses and wage replacement paid from those claims by 26%.</p>
<p>But the number of federal OSHA inspectors fell to a <a href="https://aflcio.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/DOTJ2019nb.pdf">low of 875 in 2019</a>, compared to a high of 1,469 in 1980.</p>
<p>The drop in inspectors coincided with an expansion of workplaces to protect, from <a href="https://www.bls.gov/bdm/us_age_naics_00_table5.txt">4.5 million in 1980 to more than 8.1 million today</a>. That means that there were 3,063 workplaces for each OSHA inspector in 1980, compared to 9,286 today, more than a 200% increase.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022185618765551">Effective enforcement</a> requires a workplace focus to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2555847?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">increase compliance with safety and health standards</a> and change practices that can lead to fatalities and serious injuries. </p>
<p>Overburdening inspectors reduces OSHA’s ability to find and remediate workplace safety violations, like inadequate protections against slips and falls, a major cause of workplace injuries and fatalities.</p>
<p>It also reduces the incentives created by deterrence. When businesses know they’re not likely to be inspected, they are less likely to devote resources to create safe workplaces.</p>
<p>Reducing the number of OSHA inspectors puts more workers in danger of physical harm on the job.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Weil received past funding from the US Department of Labor for studies of enforcement and compliance of federal workplace laws. </span></em></p>A reduction in OSHA inspectors may lead to a reduction in workplace safety.David Weil, Dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.