Nearly two years after enacting the first-in-the-nation permanent COVID-19 workplace safety and health standard, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board voted to rescind its COVID-19 standard. The revocation took effect on March 23.
Following his inauguration in January 2022, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin made withdrawal of the COVID-19 standard a priority. Pursuant to Youngkin’s Jan. 15 executive order, the board met in February 2022 and accepted the Department of Labor & Industry’s recommendation that COVID-19 no longer posed a “grave danger” to workers and, therefore, the COVID-19 standard was no longer needed to keep workers safe. After a 30-day notice and comment period, the board voted to rescind the COVID-19 standard on March 21. The revocation became effective when a notice was published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper on March 23.
