What Is an Emergency Temporary Standard?
By Gary Evans, Medical Writer  According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), OSHA is authorized to set emergency temporary standards that take effect immediately and are in effect until superseded by a permanent standard. OSHA must determine that workers are in grave danger due to exposure to toxic substances or agents determined to be toxic or physically harmful or to new hazards and that an emergency standard is needed to protect them. Then, OSHA publishes the emergency temporary standard in the Federal Register, where it also serves as a proposed permanent standard. It is then subject to the usual procedure for adopting a permanent standard except that a final ruling should be made within six months. The validity of an emergency temporary standard may be challenged in an appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals.1  REFERENCE  1. U.S. Department of Labor. OSHA Standards Development. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standards-development