Virginia has drafted workplace guidance in the event it strikes down its first-in-the-nation COVID-19 standard.
On his first day in office, Governor Glenn Younkin declared Virginia “open for business” and issued Executive Order 6: “Reinvigorating Job Growth by Removing Burdensome Regulations from Virginia’s Business Community.” The order directed the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board to convene an emergency meeting to determine whether the COVID-19 standard was still necessary.
The Board proposed to rescind the standard and opened a 30-day comment public comment period, which ends on March 19. The Board plans to meet on March 21 to take a final vote on the proposal to rescind the standard.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 authorizes Virginia and 26 other “State Plan” states to enact state-specific standards and operate their own occupational safety and health program under a matching grant with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). California, Michigan, and Oregon followed suit with state-based standards of their own.
On July 15, 2020, the Board (which included author Courtney Malveaux) made Virginia the first state in the nation to promulgate an Emergency Temporary Standard to address COVID-19 in workplaces, and it made the standard permanent on January 27, 2021.
In addition to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and OSHA guidelines, the standard includes provisions that require...
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