The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released guidance saying they will prioritize work site inspections of healthcare facilities over other “essential” businesses that still remain open during the coronavirus outbreak.

To conserve resources, the administration is going to focus on inspecting hospitals, nursing homes, laboratories and other “high-risk” settings that are the subject of complaints by employees.

OSHA directed their inspectors to send letters to employers of other businesses, requesting that they conduct their own investigations of worker complaints and report results to the agency.

OSHA can fine employers for violating workplace safety standards but only after it conducts inspections and investigations.

Employees of major companies like Walmart and Amazon have called for hazard pay, protective equipment and other measures to keep them safe and prevent the spread of coronavirus. These companies have said they’ve taken steps to protect their employees – things like cleaning work sites more frequently and adding space between workstations.

So far OSHA has not adopted emergency rules that would require employers to implement specific safety measures like social distancing.

David Michaels was OSHA’s administrator under then-President Barack Obama, and said that the agency should require employers to follow guidelines issued by the CDC and other authorities.

“If the Department of Labor leadership thinks that asking politely will result in major changes in workplace conditions, they haven’t been watching the mounting number of disease cases in workplaces from farms to meatpacking plants to grocery stores,” said Michaels, an epidemiologist and professor at George Washington University in Washington.

OSHA’s deputy assistant secretary, Loren Sweatt, said the agency has been informing employers of their legal duties and reminding them that retaliating against employees who report hazardous conditions is illegal.

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