,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cdge ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #ab1 #bjbj,ms4 ,duckworth 7for herself1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 and ,ms4 ,warren7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 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 disease exposure control plan to protect employees in the health care sectors and other employees at elevated risk from exposure to ,,sars-,co,v-#b1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,covid-#ai ,health ,care ,worker ,protection ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the infectious disease ,,covid-#ai presents a grave danger to health care workers who are on the first line of defense of the ,united ,states against this epidemic4 7#b7 ,hundreds of health care workers in the ,united ,states have been infected or quarantined due to exposure to patients with ,,covid-#ai4 ,surveys conducted by health care worker unions and others have found that many healthcare facilities are inadequately prepared to safely protect health care workers who are exposed to the virus4 7#c7 ,inadequate infection control precautions have a detrimental impact on health care workers1 patients1 and the public1 and if there is breakdown in health care worker protections1 the ,nation's public health system is placed at risk4 7#d7 ,the severe acute respiratory syndrome 7referred to in this section as ,,sars7 epidemic of #bjjc and #bjjd in ,canada1 which involved a coronavirus1 resulted in a disproportionately large number of infections of both health care workers and patients in ,ontario1 ,canada hospitals due to insufficient infection control procedures involving ,,sars4 7#e7 ,the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,administration began rulemaking on a standard to protect health care workers from airborne and other infectious diseases in #bjji4 ,in #bjag1 the ,trump ,administration suspended work on this rulemaking1 removing it from the active ,regulatory ,agenda4 7#f7 ,the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention issued a document entitled #bjjg ,guideline for ,isolation ,precautions3 ,preventing ,transmission of ,infectious ,agents in ,healthcare ,settings in ,july1 #bjjg4 ,however1 the guideline in such document is not binding4 7#g7 ,absent an enforceable standard1 employers lack mandatory requirements to implement an effective and ongoing infection and exposure control program that provides protection to health care workers from ,,covid-#ai4 7#h7 ,section #f7;c77#a7 of the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,act of #aigj 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #fee7;c77#a77 authorizes the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,administration to issue an emergency temporary standard if employees are exposed to grave danger from harmful agents or new hazards and if an emergency standard is necessary to protect employees from such danger4 ,the widespread outbreak of ,,covid-#ai clearly satisfies these two conditions4 7#i7 ,the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,administration has received #b petitions in ,march #bjbj calling on the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,administration to issue an emergency temporary standard to protect workers from ,,covid-#ai4 7#aj7 ,an emergency temporary standard is necessary to ensure the immediate protection of workers in health care workplaces and other high-risk workplaces identified by the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention and the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,administration from infection related to ,,covid-#ai4 ,i ,,covid-#ai ,emergency ,temporary ,standard #aja4 ,,covid-#ai emergency temporary standard 7a7 ,emergency temporary standard ,pursuant to section #f7;c77#a7 of the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,act of #aigj 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #fee7;c77#a771 not later than #a month after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,labor shall promulgate an emergency temporary standard to protect from occupational exposure to ,,sars-,co,v-#b-- 7#a7 employees of health care sector employers2 and 7#b7 employees in other sectors whom the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention or the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,administration identifies as having elevated risk4 7b7 ,permanent standard ,upon publication of the emergency standard under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of ,labor shall commence a proceeding to promulgate a standard under section #f7;c77#c7 of the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,act of #aigj 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #fee7;c77#c77 with respect to such emergency temporary standard4 7c7 ,requirements ,each standard promulgated under this section shall-- 7#a7 require the employers of the employees described in subsection 7a7 to develop and implement a comprehensive infectious disease exposure control plan2 and 7#b7 at a minimum1 be based on the precautions for severe acute respiratory syndrome in the #bjjg ,guideline for ,isolation ,precautions3 ,preventing ,transmission of ,infectious ,agents in ,healthcare ,settings of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention and any subsequent updates2 and 7#c7 provide no less protection for novel pathogens than precautions mandated by standards adopted by a ,state plan that has been approved by the ,secretary of ,labor under section #ah of the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,act of #aigj 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #ffg74 7d7 ,applicability to ,states and political subdivisions ,for the purposes of this title1 a ,state or political subdivision of a ,state shall be considered an employer under section #c7e7 of the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,act of #aigj 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #feb7e771 and the emergency temporary standard and permanent standard required under this section shall be applicable to such employers and enforceable under the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,act of #aigj 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #fea et seq474 ,,ii ,amendments to the ,social ,security ,act #bja4 ,application of ,,covid-#ai emergency temporary standard to certain facilities receiving ,medicare funds 7a7 ,in general ,section #ahff of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acie;cc7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a77#a7-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,x71 by striking and at the end2 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,y71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 and2 and 7,c7 by inserting after subparagraph 7,y7 the following new subparagraph3 7,z7 in the case of hospitals that are not otherwise subject to the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,act of #aigj 7or a ,state occupational safety and health plan that is approved under #ah7;b7 of such ,act7 and skilled nursing facilities that are not otherwise subject to such ,act 7or such a ,state occupational safety and health plan71 to comply with the standards promulgated under section #aja of the ,,covid-#ai ,health ,care ,worker ,protection ,act of #bjbj4 2 and 7#b7 in subsection 7b77#d7-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by inserting and a hospital or skilled nursing facility that fails to comply with the requirement of subsection 7a77#a77,z7 7relating to the standards promulgated under section #aja of the ,,covid-#ai ,health ,care ,worker ,protection ,act of #bjbj7 after ,bloodborne ,pathogens ,standard72 and 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,b7-- 7i7 by striking 7a77#a77,u7 and inserting 7a77#a77,v72 and 7ii7 by inserting 7or1 in the case of a failure to comply with the requirement of subsection 7a77#a77,z71 for a violation of the standards referred to in such subsection by a hospital or skilled nursing facility1 as applicable1 that is subject to the provisions of such ,act7 before the period at the end4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by subsection 7a7 shall apply beginning on the date that is #a month after the date of promulgation of the emergency temporary standard under section #aja of the ,,covid-#ai ,health ,care ,worker ,protection ,act of #bjbj4