COVID–19 Workers First Protection Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3584 To direct the Secretary of Labor to issue an emergency temporary standard that requires certain employers to develop and implement a comprehen- sive infectious disease exposure control plan to protect employees in the health care sectors and other employees at elevated risk from expo- sure to SARS–CoV–2, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 25, 2020 Ms. BALDWIN (for herself and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To direct the Secretary of Labor to issue an emergency temporary standard that requires certain employers to develop and implement a comprehensive infectious dis- ease exposure control plan to protect employees in the health care sectors and other employees at elevated risk from exposure to SARS–CoV–2, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Workers 4 First Protection Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Apr 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3584.IS S3584 PAMTMANN on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3584 IS TITLE I—COVID–19 EMERGENCY 1 TEMPORARY STANDARD AND 2 SURVEILLANCE, TRACKING, 3 AND INVESTIGATION OF 4 WORK-RELATED CASES 5 SEC. 101. EMERGENCY TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT 6 STANDARDS. 7 (a) EMERGENCY TEMPORARY STANDARD.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—In consideration of the grave 9 risk presented by COVID–19 and the need to 10 strengthen protections for employees, pursuant to 11 section 6(c)(1) of the Occupational Safety and 12 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(c)(1)), not later 13 than 1 month after the date of enactment of this 14 Act, the Secretary of Labor shall, in consultation 15 with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 16 and Prevention, the Director of the National Insti- 17 tute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the 18 persons described in paragraph (2), promulgate an 19 emergency temporary standard to protect from occu- 20 pational exposure to SARS–CoV–2— 21 (A) employees of health care sector em- 22 ployers; 23 (B) employees of employers in the para- 24 medic and emergency medical services, includ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Apr 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3584.IS S3584 PAMTMANN on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3584 IS ing such services provided by firefighters and 1 other emergency responders; and 2 (C) employees in other sectors and occupa- 3 tions whom the Centers for Disease Control and 4 Prevention or the Occupational Safety and 5 Health Administration identifies as having ele- 6 vated risk. 7 (2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the stand- 8 ard under this subsection, the Secretary shall con- 9 sult with professional associations and representa- 10 tives of the employees in the occupations and sectors 11 described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of para- 12 graph (1) and the employers of such employees. 13 (3) ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION.—If the Sec- 14 retary of Labor determines it is not feasible for an 15 employer to comply with a requirement of the stand- 16 ard promulgated under this subsection (such as the 17 provision of the necessary personal protective equip- 18 ment), the Secretary may exercise discretion in the 19 enforcement of such requirement if the employer 20 demonstrates that the employer— 21 (A) is exercising due diligence to come into 22 compliance with such requirement; and 23 (B) is implementing alternative methods 24 and measures to protect employees. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Apr 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3584.IS S3584 PAMTMANN on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3584 IS (4) EXTENSION OF STANDARD.—Notwith- 1 standing paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 6(c) of 2 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 3 U.S.C. 655(c)), the emergency temporary standard 4 promulgated under this subsection shall be in effect 5 until the date on which the final standard promul- 6 gated under subsection (b) is in effect. 7 (5) STATE PLAN ADOPTION.—With respect to a 8 State with a State plan that has been approved by 9 the Secretary of Labor under section 18 of the Oc- 10 cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 11 U.S.C. 667), not later than 14 days after the date 12 of enactment of this Act, such State shall promul- 13 gate an emergency temporary standard that is at 14 least as effective in protecting from occupational ex- 15 posure to SARS–CoV–2 the employees in the occu- 16 pations and sectors described in subparagraphs (A) 17 through (C) of paragraph (1) as the emergency tem- 18 porary standard promulgated under this subsection. 19 (6) EMPLOYER DEFINED.—For purposes of the 20 standard promulgated under this subsection, the 21 term ‘‘employer’’ under section 3 of the Occupa- 22 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 23 652) includes any State or political subdivision of a 24 State, except for those already subject to the juris- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Apr 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3584.IS S3584 PAMTMANN on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3584 IS diction of a State plan approved under section 18(b) 1 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. 2 (b) PERMANENT STANDARD.—Not later than 24 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 4 retary of Labor shall promulgate a final standard— 5 (1) to protect employees from occupational ex- 6 posure to infectious pathogens; and 7 (2) that shall be effective and enforceable in the 8 same manner and to the same extent as a standard 9 promulgated under section 6(b) of the Occupational 10 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)). 11 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—Each standard promulgated 12 under this section shall— 13 (1) require the employers of the employees in 14 the occupations and sectors described in subpara- 15 graphs (A) through (C) of subsection (a)(1) to de- 16 velop and implement a comprehensive infectious dis- 17 ease exposure control plan; 18 (2) provide no less protection for novel patho- 19 gens than precautions mandated by standards 20 adopted by a State plan that has been approved by 21 the Secretary of Labor under section 18 of the Oc- 22 cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (296 23 U.S.C. 667); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Apr 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3584.IS S3584 PAMTMANN on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3584 IS (3) incorporate, as appropriate, the precautions 1 for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the 2 ‘‘2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Pre- 3 venting Transmission of Infectious Agents in 4 Healthcare Settings’’ of the Centers for Disease 5 Control and Prevention and any subsequent updates. 6 SEC. 102. SURVEILLANCE, TRACKING, AND INVESTIGATION 7 OF WORK-RELATED CASES OF COVID–19 8 AMONG HEALTH CARE WORKERS. 9 The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 10 Prevention, in conjunction with the Director of the Na- 11 tional Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 12 shall— 13 (1) collect and analyze case reports and other 14 data on COVID–19, to identify and evaluate the ex- 15 tent, nature, and source of COVID–19 among em- 16 ployees in the occupations and sectors described in 17 subparagraphs (A) through (C) of section 101(a)(1); 18 (2) investigate, as appropriate, individual cases 19 of COVID–19 among such employees to evaluate the 20 source of exposure and adequacy of infection and ex- 21 posure control programs and measures; 22 (3) provide regular periodic reports on COVID– 23 19 disease among such employees to the public; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Apr 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3584.IS S3584 PAMTMANN on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3584 IS (4) based on such reports and investigations 1 make recommendations on needed actions or guid- 2 ance to protect such employees from COVID–19. 3 TITLE II—APPLICATION OF THE 4 PERMANENT COVID–19 5 STANDARD TO CERTAIN FA- 6 CILITIES RECEIVING MEDI- 7 CARE FUNDS. 8 SEC. 201. IN GENERAL. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1866 of the Social Secu- 10 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395cc) is amended— 11 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 12 (A) in subparagraph (X), by striking 13 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 14 (B) in subparagraph (Y), by striking at 15 the end the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 16 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (Y) 17 the following new subparagraph: 18 ‘‘(Z) in the case of hospitals that are not 19 otherwise subject to the Occupational Safety 20 and Health Act of 1970 (or a State occupa- 21 tional safety and health plan that is approved 22 under section 18(b) of such Act) and skilled 23 nursing facilities that are not otherwise subject 24 to such Act (or such a State occupational safety 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Apr 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3584.IS S3584 PAMTMANN on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3584 IS and health plan), to comply with the standard 1 promulgated under section 101(b) of the 2 COVID–19 Workers First Protection Act of 3 2020.’’; and 4 (2) in subsection (b)(4)— 5 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 6 ‘‘and a hospital or skilled nursing facility that 7 fails to comply with the requirement of sub- 8 section (a)(1)(Z) (relating to the standard pro- 9 mulgated under section 101(b) of the COVID– 10 19 Workers First Protection Act of 2020)’’ 11 after ‘‘Bloodborne Pathogens Standard)’’; and 12 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 13 (i) by striking ‘‘(a)(1)(U)’’ and insert- 14 ing ‘‘(a)(1)(V)’’; and 15 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(or, in the case of a 16 failure to comply with the requirement of 17 subsection (a)(1)(Z), for a violation of the 18 standard promulgated under section 19 101(b) of the COVID–19 Workers First 20 Protection Act of 2020 by a hospital or 21 skilled nursing facility, as applicable, that 22 is subject to the provisions of such Act)’’ 23 before the period at the end. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Apr 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3584.IS S3584 PAMTMANN on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3584 IS (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 1 subsection (a) shall apply beginning on the date that is 2 1 month after the date of promulgation of the permanent 3 standard under section 101(b). 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Apr 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3584.IS S3584 PAMTMANN on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS