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AFL-CIO petitions D.C. Circuit to compel OSHA to mandate that employers protect workers from COVID-19

May 18, 2020

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (“AFL-CIO”) filed an emergency petition with the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for a writ of mandamus that would compel the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) to issue an emergency temporary standard for infectious disease to protect workers from the dangers posed by COVID-19.

OSHA has not taken formal action on the AFL-CIO’s request that OSHA issue such a standard, but OSHA has made clear that it has no intention of doing so on its own volition. The filing of the petition has been covered by Politico, Axios, The Hill, and Law360, among other news outlets. Bredhoff & Kaiser is co-counsel for the AFL-CIO before the D.C. Circuit.