The Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) this past week belatedly released Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) with respect to workplace safety procedures to prevent spread of COVID. The ETS originally due on March 15th lags rules issued by many states months ago.
The ETS excluded workers at meat-packing and food processing plants although providing standards to protect workers in healthcare and factory operations. Advocates of workers' rights and unions expressed disappointment with the exclusion of farm and plant personnel. Pointing to the prevalence of COVID, estimated by advocacy group FERN, at more than 90,000 cases with 400 fatalities in 15,000 food and farm facilities, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Venceremos complained that lobbying by food processors was responsible for the failure to include food system workers.
The ETS was also criticized by Rep Bobby Scott (D-GA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee who pointed to the vulnerability of meat processing workers, retail grocery clerks and those incarcerated in prisons and living in homeless 
shelters. In point of fact, major meat-packing and poultry processing companies arranged for vaccination of workers as soon as supplies were available. Major poultry processors were proactive in providing masks to workers, isolating workstations with partitions and using health screening to reduce transmission of COVID. The OSHA recommendations codify what was practiced during the second quarter of 2020. In the interim most workers have received protection thorough vaccines.