I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6139 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 9, 2020 
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Ms. SHALALA, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. ROSE of 
New York, Mr. COURTNEY, Mrs. TRAHAN, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. WILD, 
Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. 
MORELLE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. TRONE, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. 
DESAULNIER, Mr. SABLAN, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. NORCROSS, and Mrs. LEE 
of Nevada) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on 
Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
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-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Health 
Care Worker Protection Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The infectious disease COVID–19 presents 
a grave danger to health care workers who are the 
first line of defense of the United States against this 
epidemic. 
(2) Hundreds of health care workers in the 
United States have been infected or quarantined due 
to exposure to patients with COVID–19. Surveys 
conducted by health care worker unions and others 
have found that many health care facilities are inad-
equately prepared to safely protect health care work-
ers who are exposed to the virus. 
(3) Inadequate infection control precautions 
have a detrimental impact on health care workers, 
patients and the public, and if there is breakdown in 
health care worker protections, the Nation’s public 
health system is placed at risk. 
(4) The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 
(hereinafter referred to as ‘‘SARS’’) epidemic of 
2003 and 2004 in Canada, which involved a 
coronavirus, resulted in a disproportionately large 
number of infections of both health care workers and 
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patients in Ontario, Canada, hospitals due to insuffi-
cient infection control procedures involving SARS. 
(5) The Occupational Safety and Health Ad-
ministration began rulemaking on a standard to pro-
tect health care workers from airborne and other in-
fectious diseases in 2009. In 2017, the Trump Ad-
ministration suspended work on this rulemaking, re-
moving it from the active Regulatory Agenda. 
(6) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention issued a document entitled, ‘‘2007 Guideline 
for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission 
of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings’’ in July, 
2007. However, the guideline in such document is 
not binding. 
(7) Absent an enforceable standard, employers 
lack mandatory requirements to implement an effec-
tive and ongoing infection and exposure control pro-
gram that provides protection to health care workers 
from COVID–19. 
(8) Section 6(c)(1) of the Occupational Safety 
and Health Act 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 
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employees from such danger. The widespread out-
break of COVID–19 clearly satisfies these two condi-
tions. 
(9) The Occupational Safety and Health Ad-
ministration has received two petitions in March 
2020 calling on the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration to issue an Emergency Temporary 
Standard to protect workers from COVID–19. 
(10) 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–19. 
TITLE I—COVID–19 EMERGENCY 
TEMPORARY STANDARD 
SEC. 101. COVID–19 EMERGENCY TEMPORARY STANDARD. 
(a) EMERGENCY TEMPORARY STANDARD.—Pursuant 
to section 6(c)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health 
Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(c)(1)), not later than 1 month 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Labor shall promulgate an emergency temporary standard 
to protect from occupational exposure to SARS–CoV–2— 
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(1) employees of health care sector employers; 
and 
(2) employees in other sectors whom the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention or the Occu-
pational Safety and Health Administration identifies 
as having elevated risk. 
(b) PERMANENT STANDARD.—Upon publication of 
the emergency standard under subsection (a), the Sec-
retary of Labor shall commence a proceeding to promul-
gate a standard under section 6(c)(3) of the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(c)(3)) with 
respect to such emergency temporary standard. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS.—Each standard promulgated 
under this section shall— 
(1) require the employers of the employees de-
scribed in subsection (a) to develop and implement 
a comprehensive infectious disease exposure control 
plan; and 
(2) at a minimum, be based on the precautions 
for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the 
‘‘2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Pre-
venting Transmission of Infectious Agents in 
Healthcare Settings’’ of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention and any subsequent updates; 
and 
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(3) provide no less protection for novel patho-
gens than precautions mandated by standards 
adopted by a State plan that has been approved by 
the Secretary of Labor under section 18 of the Oc-
cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
U.S.C. 667). 
TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE 
SOCIAL SECURITY ACT 
SEC. 201. APPLICATION OF COVID–19 EMERGENCY TEM-
PORARY STANDARD TO CERTAIN FACILITIES 
RECEIVING MEDICARE FUNDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1866 of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395cc) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (X), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (Y), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (Y) 
the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(Z) in the case of hospitals that are not 
otherwise subject to the Occupational Safety 
and Health Act of 1970 (or a State occupa-
tional safety and health plan that is approved 
under 18(b) of such Act) and skilled nursing fa-
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(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall apply beginning on the date that is 
1 month after the date of promulgation of the emergency 
temporary standard under section 101 of the COVID–19 
Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2020. 
Æ 
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