Issuing OSHA citations can take months

Issuing an OSHA citation isn’t as simple as handing out a parking ticket, especially when cases such as Covid-19-related inspections could involve general duty clause violations and must pass through multiple legal reviews, according to Bloomberg News.

Federal law allows the Occupational Safety and Health Administration up to six months after a suspected violation to issue a citation. OSHA doesn’t have a rule specifically covering airborne pathogens such as the coronavirus, but the general duty clause allows the agency to cite employers who don’t protect workers from known deadly hazards that feasibly can be corrected.