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Release of OSHA’s Covid-19 emergency temporary standard is on hold at the request of Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “Secretary Walsh reviewed the materials, and determined that they should be updated to reflect the latest scientific analysis of the state of the disease,” a Labor Department spokesperson told Bloomberg Law on Tuesday. The review is of the standard’s analysis of the disease, not the standard’s regulatory text. It’s been more than three weeks since the March 15 deadline President Joe Biden’s executive order had set for DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to decide whether a standard was needed; the order directed the agency to issue a standard if its answer was that Covid-19 posed a grave danger to workers. The standard is expected to require employers to develop and implement infection control and prevention plans that follow guidance from the CDC. It also could address other issues, such as paying workers if they’re forced to quarantine and ensuring workers could return to jobs after their absence. --BNA