Healthcare Co-Chair Discusses “Gray Areas” of OSHA’s New COVID-19 Worker Protection Standard

In an interview with Bloomberg Law, Kevin Troutman discusses how OSHA’s new COVID-19 healthcare worker protection standard has caused some confusion for employers as they try to determine if the regulation’s mandates apply to them. The standard, which took effect June 21, says its full requirements apply to “all settings where any employee provides healthcare services or healthcare support services.” In general, this means that the regulation covers all hospitals and skilled nursing home facilities, but Kevin explains that it also “leaves a lot of gray areas” for certain facilities and non-hospital ambulatory care settings that might think they are exempt from the standard. He advises that if an employer wants to qualify for an exemption then they “should limit the number of entrances and have a screening process where people are checked at the entrance or outside.” Kevin adds that “if a clinic is attached to a hospital, the employer should consider limiting access between the hospital and the clinic to satisfy the agency’s screening requirements.”

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