On January 29, 2021, and in accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order on Occupational Health and Safety Protection, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) issued guidelines focusing on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID- 19 in workplaces outside the health sector. The guidance does not expressly create any new legal obligations for employers, but it does describe OSHA’s perspective on best practices. The guidance also reminds employers that they already have enforceable obligations under existing federal regulations, including the obligation to provide a recognized risk-free workplace, such as COVID-19.
The OSHA guidance encourages employers to implement a COVID-19 prevention program as the most effective way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The guidance emphasizes employee engagement, communication and training as best practices.
According to OSHA, important components of a COVID-19 prevention program include:
1. Designate a workplace coordinator responsible for implementing the COVID-19 plan.
2. Conduct a risk assessment to identify potential COVID-19 risks in the workplace.
3. Implement measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, including requiring sick, symptom or exposed employees to stay or return home and quarantine or isolate, as recommended by the CDC; implement physical distance; use facial covers and other personal protective equipment; improving ventilation; encouraging good hygiene; and perform routine cleaning and disinfection regularly, with improved cleaning and disinfection after a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19.
4. Protect workers at greatest risk of serious illness, including providing reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
5. Encourage employees to report symptoms, exposure and risks to COVID-19 in the workplace.
6. Educate and train workers, contractors and facility visitors on COVID-19 policies and infection mitigation procedures.
7. Minimize the impact of necessary quarantines on employees through telecommuting and / or using available paid leave.
8. Providing workplace screening and testing.
9. Following OSHA registration and reporting regulations, as applied to COVID-19 diseases and injuries. COVID-19 infections can be registered by OSHA-log in accordance with existing regulations, as explained in the OSHA Revised Application Guidance for Coronavirus Disease Registry Cases 2019 (COVID-19), and COVID fatalities and hospitalizations -19 may need to be quickly reported to OSHA directly, as explained in the OSHA Reporting FAQ.
10. Protect employees from retaliation when they claim rights under OSHA to defend their health and safety, in accordance with Section 11 (c) of the OSH Act.
11. Make COVID-19 vaccines available to employees free of charge and provide information and training on vaccine benefits.
12. Ensure that workers continue to use face cover, physical distance and take other appropriate precautions, even after vaccination.
13. Continue to follow other OSHA requirements, including standards that require PPE, sanitation and employee access to medical and exposure records.
OSHA guidance may foreshadow future mandatory standards by requiring employers to implement a COVID-19 prevention program. President Biden has ordered OSHA to consider whether applicable federal standards are necessary and, if so, to publish those standards by March 15, 2021. For now, however, all employers are encouraged to assess whether their policies and Current COVID-19 plans are consistent with OSHA guidance and update as appropriate, including to comply with state and local laws or guidance on COVID-19 mitigation measures.