OSHA Issues Additional COVID-19 Guidance for Employers
OSHA recently issued additional guidance for employers on how to best protect their employees from COVID-19. The guidance may be found at Safety and Health Topics | COVID-19 - Control and Prevention | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (osha.gov). In our first of two alerts, we will address the standards applicable to employers whose workers are at lower risk for exposure to COVID-19. This group primarily includes office and remote workers who do not have frequent and/or close exposure to others. In our next alert, we will address the standards applicable to employers with workers at a higher exposure risk. OSHA has created a pyramid to reflect the various exposure risks for different industries; the pyramid may be found at https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/hazardrecognition.html#risk_classification.
Many employers issued COVID-19 guidelines for their employees near the beginning of the pandemic. With the infection rate rising in many areas, employers should consider revisiting and updating those guidelines to ensure they comply with OSHA’s guidance as well as the standards set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (which may be found at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html). Then, the guidelines need to be communicated to employees and implemented.
For employers with employees at lower risk of exposure, the notice should remind employees to wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or, if not available, to use an alcohol-based hand rub with at least 60% alcohol, to avoid touching their eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands, to practice good respiratory etiquette (including covering coughs and sneezes), to avoid close contact with people who are sick, and to stay home if they are sick. Employees should also be encouraged to recognize their personal risk factors, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), include being older or having an underlying health condition such as heart or lung disease or diabetes, which increases their risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19.
While this advice sounds very basic at this point, the reminder is needed, particularly with regard to being vigilant about others with whom the employee comes into contact. One issue with which many employers are frequently struggling – and the new notice should address – is employees being exposed to persons outside of work who have or may have COVID-19. The notice should advise employees not to attend events at which anyone appears to be “under the weather.” And, the notice should require employees to immediately advise their employer if they have attended a gathering where anyone was even slightly ill or if an attendee at a gathering subsequently became ill or is suspected to have COVID-19. This will allow the employer to make a decision as to the level of risk this employee poses and whether remote work should be required during the 14 days following the gathering to ensure the employee remains well. While this may feel like an intrusion into the employee’s personal life, it will give the employer the option to evaluate the risk any such scenario poses and decide the best steps to protect its workforce.
Stay tuned for a post regarding OSHA guidance for workers who have a higher risk of COVID-19 exposure.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Please consult with your legal counsel regarding any specific situation, particularly given that this is a newer area of the law.
Written by Christie Newkirk and Chelsea Glover from Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, L.L.P.