Just yesterday, June 10, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the issuance of an emergency temporary standard to protect healthcare workers from contracting coronavirus.
Importantly, the emergency temporary standard does not apply to the construction industry. Rather, for industries outside of healthcare, OSHA did publish updated guidance to help employers and workers protect workers who are still not vaccinated, with a special emphasis on other industries noted for pro-longed close-contacts, like meat processing, manufacturing, seafood, and grocery and high-volume retail.
Notably, OSHA’s guidance, which does not require compliance, creates no new legal obligations, and is only advisory in nature and informational in content, provides that, unless otherwise required by federal, state, local, tribal or territorial laws, rules and regulations, most employers no longer need to take steps to protect their fully vaccinated workers who are not otherwise at-risk from COVID-19 exposure. OSHA’s updated guidance focuses only on protecting unvaccinated or otherwise at-risk workers in their workplaces (or well-defined portions of workplaces). Where all employees are fully vaccinated, OSHA’s guidance provides that most employers no longer will need to take steps to protect their workers form COVID-19 exposure in any workplace (or well-defined portions of workplaces).
As for OSHA’s guidance for employers who have unvaccinated or otherwise at-risk workers, OSHA suggests implementing multi-layered interventions, including, but not limited to, granting paid time off for employees to get vaccinated, instructing unvaccinated workers who have had exposure or are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 to stay home from work, implementing physical distancing for unvaccinated and otherwise at-risk workers in all communal areas, and providing unvaccinated and otherwise at-risk workers with face coverings or surgical masks, unless their work task requires a respirator or other PPE.
You can access OSHA’s Guidance by clicking here. If you have any questions concerning implementing any aspect of OSHA’s guidance, or if you have any other questions on mask policies, vaccinations, or COVID-19, please contact Philip Siegel by clicking here.
