Emergency Request Memo to OIRA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Washington, D.C. 20210

Date: November 5, 2021
MEMORANDUM
From:

James S. Fredrick, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor
for Occupational Safety and Health Administration

To:

Sharon Block, Associate Administrator Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs

Subject:

Request for Emergency Review and Clearance of Information Collections in
OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard for COVID-19 Vaccinations, Testing,
and Face Coverings (29 CFR 1910.501)

______________________________________________________________________________
Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 C.F.R. Part
1320, Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public, OSHA is requesting emergency clearance
for the proposed information collections under the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard
(ETS) for COVID-19 Vaccinations, Testing, and Face Coverings (29 CFR 1910.501, Subpart U).
The Emergency Clearance Request will be processed in accordance with 5 C.F.R. § 320.13.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) requires OSHA to issue an ETS if
the agency determines that “employees are exposed to grave danger from exposure to substances
or agents determined to be toxic or physically harmful or from new hazards,” and an ETS is
“necessary to protect employees from such danger.” 29 U.S.C. § 655(c). OSHA may issue the
ETS without regard to the notice-and-comment requirements of the Administrative Procedures
Act and any such ETS shall be effective “[u]pon publication” in the Federal Register. See id.
On September 9, 2021, President Biden issued a plan under Executive Order 13999, to help lead
the nation out of the COVID-19 pandemic in which directed OSHA to develop a new ETS to
protect employers with 100 or more employees. OSHA is issuing an ETS for vaccinations,
testing, and face covering pursuant to the President’s Order that will include collections of
information subject to OMB review under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. §
3501 et seq. The agency has determined that this collection of information must be collected
prior to the time periods established under 5 C.F.R. Part 1320 and that this collection of
information is essential to OSHA’s mission of protecting the health and safety of workers
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Given the urgent need to promulgate a standard to address the current crisis as quickly as
possible, OSHA cannot reasonably comply with the PRA’s normal clearance procedures prior to

Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Washington, D.C. 20210

publishing the ETS. To do so would delay the issuance of this emergency standard, resulting in
serious public harm.
Pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 1320.13, OSHA requests a 180-day emergency clearance of the
information collection requirements in the ETS for vaccination and testing. OSHA requests that
OMB approve the information collection by November 5, 2021 and waive publication of the 60day and 30-day Federal Register notices, as permitted under 5 C.F.R. § 1320.13.
If you have any questions, please contact Maureen Ruskin at [email protected] or by
phone at 202-693-1950.