An executive order designed to keep meatpacking and poultry plants up and running during the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to produce legal fights over who sets public health standards to protect workers and communities.
Lawrence Gostin, director of Georgetown University’s global health law center, said President Donald Trump’s order on Tuesday could launch “a clash between the powers of the president and the powers of the states.”
Gostin said the executive order is unclear about the role that state and local governments will play in monitoring the facilities, which have become so-called hot spots as hundreds of workers test positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. Continue reading.