On January 21, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed an executive order directing the U.S.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to take
certain actions to address worker safety and health with regard to
COVID-19. The executive order says much less about what the U.S.
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) should do with respect
to mining worksites, largely leaving it to MSHA to set its own
course in addressing the pandemic.
While the executive order directs both OSHA and MSHA to consider
whether an emergency temporary standard (ETS) is necessary, it sets
only a specific issuance date for OSHA to follow. According to the
executive order, OSHA is to issue its ETS by March 15, 2021. With
respect to any ETS to be issued by MSHA, the executive order simply
says that MSHA is to do so "as soon as practicable."
