Donna Reichle, senior director of public affairs at the Associated Builders and Contractors said, "We agree OSHA has caused significant confusion with this guidance. Industry groups will be seeking clarification from the agency."
OSHA has been working for weeks on an all-industries COVID-19 emergency safety standard, which is now being reviewed by the Biden administration's Office of Management and Budget. Release of the final rule is believed to be coming soon. It is possible the new safety standard could preempt or replace the April 20 guidance to employers. It's unclear, at this point, if separate rules will be made for industries such as construction, where liability and risk are defined differently than in industries where work takes place in a company facility.
The number of overall COVID-19 hospitalizations and fatalities also greatly affects the recommendations CDC, OSHA and the various states have released. Cannon said the current guidance, if left unchanged, has the potential to undo months of industry work to encourage vaccination of construction workers.
"It's almost like they haven't talked to the rest of the Biden administration about the goal of getting as many people vaccinated as possible," said Brian Turmail, AGC vice president of public affairs.