Maryland Covid-19 Workplace Safety Bill Goes to Governor’s Desk

A Maryland bill will impose enforceable workplace safety standards aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 if that legislation bound for Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk becomes law.

The measure, HB 581, would require Maryland to join neighboring Virginia in creating an emergency temporary standard for workplace safety in response to the pandemic. A handful of other states—including California, Michigan, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington—are enforcing virus-specific safety standards through gubernatorial executive orders or state agency actions, rather than legislative measures.

The Maryland bill requires the state’s Department of Labor to adopt a new federal standard that the U.S. Occupational Safety ...