As you may have heard, Iowa OSHA issued a statement late yesterday stating that it would not adopt or enforce the federal OSHA ETS (Emergency Temporary Standard) that is currently the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court. Accordingly, regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision on a stay, we are advising that employers impacted by the OSHA ETS may reasonably choose to pause any further action to comply with or implement the federal OSHA ETS at this time.
Because Iowa is an OSHA state plan state, the Iowa Division of Labor is tasked with enforcement of OSHA requirements and it has clearly indicated that it will not be implementing or enforcing the federal ETS. The ramifications of Iowa’s decision and the potential effects on our state plan status are not yet known. It is possible federal OSHA could still step in and enforce the ETS in Iowa if it is upheld by the Supreme Court or take other revocation action regarding Iowa’s state OSHA plan. However, Iowa OSHA will not be taking any action against employers who choose not to implement the federal ETS at this time.
We will continue to monitor any actions by the U.S. Supreme Court on the OSHA ETS and will issue any additional updates as warranted.
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