No major renovation, costly HVAC requirements, or negative airflow room mandates

On June 10, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for employee safety measures going forward.  According to OSHA, “The ETS is effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register…but OSHA will use its enforcement discretion for employers who are making a good faith effort to comply with the ETS.”

Many concerns had been raised that a new ETS by OSHA might require orthodontic procedures to be performed in a negative airflow room, or include similarly costly and burdensome HVAC requirements. The AAO has advocated alongside Cozen O’Connor over the last year that requirements like this would be cost-prohibitive, especially in light of the difficult year so many orthodontists and dentists have had. We are pleased to share the new ETS does not impose these types of requirements.

Subjects covered by the ETS include employer requirements for: (1) drafting COVID-19 plans; (2) designating an in-house COVID-19 safety coordinator with compliance authority; (3) wearing of masks by employees; (4) undertaking aerosol-generating procedures; (5) physical distancing and physical barriers; as well as (6) other recommendations generally consistent with current CDC guidance.

The AAO Legal and Advocacy team, working in conjunction with our federal lobbyists, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, will continue to analyze the new ETS and provide a more detailed summary to AAO members next week. In particular, exclusions from these requirements may be available to you based on adhering to specified screening protocols. While we continue to review and seek additional clarity, it is encouraging that the preamble says that non-hospital ambulatory care settings may not be covered by the ETS where “the employer develops and implements policies and procedures to screen all non-employees prior to entry and does not permit those with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 entry into the facility.”  Orthodontic settings were specifically listed as an example of a possibly exempted employer.

For more information on determining whether your practice is covered, refer to OSHA’s “Is your workplace covered by the COVID 19 Healthcare ETS?” flowchart. An explanation of “screening” for the purposes of this rule can be found on Pages 640-641 HERE

We will also be meeting with the Division of Oral Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) next week, which works in conjunction with OSHA’s requirements.

For more information, you can access the OSHA ETS Fact Sheet, FAQs, and a helpful flowchart here: