Should Record-High COVID-19 Cases Bring Restrictions? It’s Complicated
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The shrinking economic safety net and politics of the moment complicate an otherwise straightforward public health decision.
Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting (https://kycir.org/tag/gov-andy-beshear/)
The shrinking economic safety net and politics of the moment complicate an otherwise straightforward public health decision.
Kentucky officials likely underpaid some workers and overpaid others who weren’t eligible for the benefits they received.
The decision to start a phased reopening took place amid a confluence of economic worry, social distancing exhaustion and political pressure.
The executive director was fired without the approval from the infrastructure authority’s board, contrary to the bylaws and the board’s past practice, and replaced with someone who has ties to Beshear but little experience in water infrastructure systems.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced Friday that he has reinstated the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, which former Gov. Matt Bevin abolished in July 2018. “This is just one step that we are going to take to make sure that when our Kentuckians leave their family in the morning and head to work, it’s in the safest environment possible and that they know that they’ve got a state government that is looking out for their safety,” Beshear told KyCIR. The OSH Standards Board is responsible for adopting, modifying or suspending the state’s worker safety regulations. As a state-run OSHA plan, Kentucky’s worker safety regulations must be “as effective as” the federal standards. The board is chaired by Labor Secretary Larry Roberts.