A surge of work site complaints to OSHA combined with reduced and mostly remote inspections have resulted in increased risk to U.S. workers’ safety, according to a report issued on Feb. 25 by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. OIG’s conclusions are based on an audit that examined plans and guidance developed by OSHA to address COVID-19 as well as the extent to which challenges created by the pandemic have affected the agency’s ability to protect the safety of workers. The OIG report highlights data provided by OSHA showing that the agency received 15 percent more complaints and conducted 50 percent fewer inspections between Feb. 1 and Oct. 26, 2020, compared to a similar period in 2019. Federal OSHA also issued fewer violations and performed a smaller number of COVID-19-related inspections compared to state workplace safety and health plans. According to the report, OSHA issued 295 violations for 176 inspections related to COVID-19, while state plans issued 1,679 violations for 756 inspections. Of the COVID-19 complaints received by OSHA throughout February–October 2020, 35 percent came from the healthcare and retail trade sectors. Twenty-four percent of all complaints related to COVID-19 came from just the healthcare industry, including workplaces such as hospitals, nursing homes, and residential care facilities. Restaurants and other eating places accounted for six percent of all COVID-19 complaints during that period, and together construction and general warehousing and storage represented five percent. The report also describes concerns about the lack of on-site inspections during the COVID-19 pandemic. A previous report (PDF) issued by OIG in 2017 found that for approximately one-third of the citations reviewed, employers abated the hazard during the OSHA inspection or within 24 hours of the agency identifying the hazard. “Without onsite observations, hazards or unsafe practices may not be identified or mitigated for longer periods, placing employees’ safety at greater risk,” OIG explains. “The lack of onsite inspections may impact OSHA’s ability to observe employer practices, quickly mitigate any potential hazards, and issue violations sooner to control the spread of the disease to other employees.” OIG urges OSHA to improve its inspection strategy by prioritizing high-risk employers for on-site inspections related to COVID-19. The report also recommends that OSHA compare COVID-19 inspections conducted remotely with those performed on site and examine the frequency and timeliness with which hazards are identified and abated. On March 12, OSHA updated its enforcement plan to limit remote inspections to certain circumstances with area directors’ approval and announced a new National Emphasis Program (NEP) that prioritizes workplaces at high risk for COVID-19 spread for enforcement efforts. The NEP and the updated enforcement guidance help address concerns brought up in the OIG report; more information about them can be found below. OSHA is also addressing another OIG recommendation to determine whether it is necessary to establish an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to help control occupational spread of COVID-19. As this issue of The Synergist went to press, OSHA had yet to issue an ETS. But in a press release published on April 28, OSHA announced that it had sent draft emergency temporary standards on COVID-19 to the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review. OSHA says that it worked with science-agency partners, economic agencies, and others in the U.S. government to “get the proposed emergency standard right.” An executive order issued by President Joe Biden during his first week in office directed OSHA to issue an ETS by March 15 if the agency determined it to be necessary. Earlier in April, Bloomberg Law reported that OSHA’s ETS was on hold at the request of the new Secretary of Labor, Marty Walsh. Bloomberg Law reported that a Labor Department spokesperson explained that Walsh “ordered a rapid update based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis and the latest information regarding the state of vaccinations and the variants.” To learn more, view the full report (PDF) on OIG’s website.

On March 22, the Senate confirmed Marty Walsh, then mayor of Boston, as U.S. Secretary of Labor. Walsh was sworn in the following day. He is the first union member to serve as Labor secretary since the 1970s. Walsh was first elected as Boston’s mayor in 2013 and won reelection in 2017. Walsh was previously a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1997 through 2014. A member of the Laborers’ Union Local 223, Walsh served as the union’s president and as secretary- treasurer, general agent, and ultimately head of the Boston Metropolitan District Building Trades Council, an umbrella group of local construction unions. He resigned from his union leadership positions prior to his first mayoral campaign in 2013. More information about Walsh’s career can be found on the U.S. Department of Labor and City of Boston websites.