- Executive Branch fiats don’t work in this country (and we can be thankful for that), but those in power sometimes don’t get that (or don’t care). Fortunately, we (MMS) weren’t tasked with many political rules, largely to the credit of our leadership.
- OSHA had done a good job of reinventing itself and improving its reputation and image. Now this.
- OSHA has a no-win assignment: issue a complex rule disguised as an Emergency Temporary Standard (a convenient regulatory hook that is being challenged legally).
- This is a very labor intensive exercise for OSHA. The 490 page
rulestandard that was issued today is just the beginning. - Well managed companies should have already developed a policy that best serves their business interest and fully considers the needs of customers and employees.
- The OSHA directive takes the lagging companies off the hook. Rather than actually managing, corporate execs can simply point to the government directive.
- It looks like enforcement falls on the companies which “must maintain a record and a roster of each employee’s vaccination status.”
- OSHA is a bit late to the party. BSEE has been collaboratively working COVID issues with the offshore industry for nearly 2 years. Will they now be asked to inspect facility COVID records and enforce the OSHA mandate?
- For the record, 100% of BOE’s employees are thrice vaccinated for COVID (initial Pfizer doses plus the booster).😃
The legal challenges are already in motion, and the arguments are compelling:
“The order is unconscionable. OSHA does not know how to run our companies. We do,” said Steve Fettig, Secretary and Treasurer of Tankcraft and Plasticraft. “OSHA does not know how to keep our employees safe. We do. And we have done so successfully since the start of the pandemic without the interference of a federal bureaucracy. We respect our employees’ fundamental right to make their own private, difficult medical choices.”
Milwaukee Journal
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 