CHARLESTON â A bill introduced by West Virginiaâs two U.S. senators and six congressional colleagues would add long-sought COVID-19 protections for miners. Throughout the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Labor and its mine safety agency, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MHSA), have declined to issue an emergency temporary standard related to the novel coronavirus. The COVID-19 Mine Worker Protection Act would direct the Labor Department to develop and implement a comprehensive infectious disease exposure control plan, provide personal protective equipment to miners and track and investigate mine-related infections data. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., was the main sponsor of a bill with the same purpose in the previous Congress in May, but the measure languished in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.