OSHA Issues Guidelines for Addressing COVID-19 Issues in the Workplace
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recently published several new guidelines, alerts, and interim enforcement rules to address workplace safety and wellness issues in the current COVID-19 crisis environment.
OSHA’s Interim Enforcement Response Plan for Handling COVID-19 Related Matters.
On April 13, 2020, OSHA published its “Interim Enforcement Response Plan for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19),” which provides instructions and guidance to OSHA’s Area Offices and to its Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) for handling COVID-19-related complaints, referrals, and severe illness reports.
The plan outlines procedures for how OSHA will address reports of workplace hazards related to COVID-19. Fatalities and imminent danger exposures related to COVID-19 will be prioritized for on-site inspections. The plan also outlines detailed procedures and sample documentation for CSHOs to use during COVID-19-related inspections.
The full plan is available here:
Interim Enforcement Response Plan for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
OSHA Reminds Employers About Whistleblower Protections.
On April 8, 2020, OSHA published a reminder to all employers that it is illegal to retaliate against workers because they report or complain about unsafe or unhealthful working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent media coverage has shown thousands of employees across the country, in a variety of industries, protesting what they believe to be unsafe working conditions – these employees likely are protected by OSHA’s whistleblower provisions.
The notice reminded workers that, if they believe their employer is retaliating against them for reporting or complaining about unsafe working conditions, they may file a complaint with OSHA, either by telephone or by using OSHA’s online whistleblower complaint form. Illegal retaliation may include a variety of adverse personnel actions, such as terminations, demotions, denials of overtime or promotion, or reductions in pay or hours.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of over twenty federal statutes, protecting employees against retaliation for complaining about or reporting violations of those statutes. A full description of OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program is available here, and fact sheets for each of the various federal statutes with whistleblower provisions are available here.
A full copy of OSHA’s April 8 reminder is available here.
OSHA’s New OSHA Safety Poster to Address COVID-19 Hazards.
OSHA has published a new (non-mandatory) poster that lists steps that all workplaces can take to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19. The poster identifies ten infection prevention measures an employer can implement to protect its workers’ safety and health during the COVID-19 crisis. Suggested measures include: encouraging sick workers to stay home; establishing flexible worksites and staggered work shifts; discouraging workers from using other workers’ phones, desks and other work equipment; and using EPA-approved cleaning chemicals.
The poster is available for download in English, or Spanish.
OSHA Issues Enforcement Guidance for the Recording of Workplace Illnesses Related to COVID-19.
On April 10, 2020, OSHA issued interim guidance to its Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) for enforcing OSHA’s recordkeeping requirement (29 CFR Part 1904) as it relates to recording cases of COVID-19.
Under OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements, COVID-19 is a recordable illness, and employers are responsible for recording cases of COVID-19, if the case: (1) is confirmed as a COVID-19 illness; (2) is work-related, as defined by OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1904.5; and (3) involves one or more of the general recording criteria listed in OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1904.7, such as medical treatment beyond first aid or days away from work.
The interim guidance acknowledges that, in areas where there is “ongoing community transmission,” employers (other than those in the healthcare industry, emergency response organizations (e.g., emergency medical, firefighting, and law enforcement services), and correctional institutions) may have difficulty making determinations about whether a worker contracted COVID-19 due to a workplace exposure or elsewhere. Therefore, “until further notice,” OSHA will not enforce its recordkeeping requirements to require these employers to make work-relatedness determinations for COVID-19 cases, unless: (1) there is objective evidence that a COVID-19 case may be work-related; and (2) the evidence was reasonably available to the employer.
On the other hand, employers of workers in the healthcare industry, emergency response organizations, and correctional institutions must continue to make work-relatedness determinations pursuant to 29 CFR Part 1904.
This guidance is intended to be time-limited to the current public health crisis.
A full copy of the interim guidance is available here.
OSHA Issues Safety Alert for Manufacturing Employers.
On April 16, 2020, OSHA issued an Alert for employers in the manufacturing industry, listing recommended safety precautions employers can implement to help protect manufacturing workers from exposure to COVID-19. The Alert provides a list of specific tips, including cleaning protocols, usage of personal protective equipment (PPE), wearing of protective masks, social distancing, workplace restructuring, work shift adjustments, and similar measures.
The new alert is available for download in English and Spanish.
OSHA also has published a more comprehensive Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, which more fully addresses the workplace hazards caused by COVID-19, and recommends various engineering, administrative, and work practice controls that may be implemented to minimize the risks faced by employees.
OSHA Issues Safety Alert for Retail Employers.
On April 8, 2020, OSHA issued an Alert for employers in the retail industry, listing recommended safety precautions that employers can implement to help protect retail workers from exposure to COVID-19. The Alert provides a list of specific tips, including cleaning protocols, usage of drive-through windows and curbside pick-up systems, wearing of protective masks, social distancing, workplace restructuring, and similar measures.
The new alert is available for download in English and Spanish.
OSHA also has published a more comprehensive Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, which more fully addresses the workplace hazards caused by COVID-19, and recommends various engineering, administrative, and work practice controls that may be implemented to minimize the risks faced by employees.
OSHA Issues Guidance on Respiratory Protection During COVID-19 Crisis, and to Address the N95 Shortage.
On April 3, 2020, OSHA issued interim enforcement guidance to assist employers in rationing and reusing filtering respirators amid the ongoing shortages in the supply of disposable N95 filtering face piece respirators (N95 FFRs).
The guidelines direct that, due to the shortage of supplies of N95 FFRs, employers should reassess their engineering controls, work practices, and administrative controls in order to decrease the need for N95 respirators. If respiratory protection must be used, an employer may consider use of alternative classes of respirators that provide equal or greater protection compared to an N95 FFR, such as National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved, non-disposable, elastomeric respirators or powered, air-purifying respirators.
Among other things, the guidance provides that workers can reuse or continue using a respirator as long as the respirator retains its “structural and functional integrity,” and the filtering material is not “physically damaged, soiled, or contaminated.” Also, OSHA recommends “extended use” over “re-use” because of the risk of transmission when removing and replacing masks.
The guidance gives OSHA inspectors the discretion not to issue citations for violations of OSHA’s respirator use standard if an employer has attempted to find alternative masks, prioritized N95 mask use based on guidance from the CDC, provided surgical masks and eye protection, and taken “other feasible measures.”
This guidance is intended to be limited to the time period of the current COVID-19 crisis.
A complete copy of the guidelines are available here.