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The COVID-19 outbreak is at top of mind for environment, health, and safety (EHS) professionals nationwide.
On June 3, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board readopted revised COVID-19 prevention emergency temporary standards (ETSs) proposed May 28 by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). The revised ETS phases out physical distancing requirements and makes other adjustments to the rules.
The short answer is that OSHA’s still reviewing the latest CDC guidance related to COVID-19, and the issue remains complex. However, there are other considerations—for human resources as well as environment, health, and safety (EHS)—that relate to this recent subscriber question posed to experts at EHS Hero®.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) will meet at 10 a.m. PDT June 3 to consider readoption of a revised COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS). A new proposal would ease certain workplace precautions on July 31.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released new criteria for masks to help protect workers from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. The NIOSH criteria incorporate the nonregulatory American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Specification for Barrier Face Coverings (F3502-21).
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) announced updates to the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (MIOSHA) COVID-19 emergency rules, reflecting new public health guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health officials. MIOSHA announced its draft permanent rules have been withdrawn, and a public hearing on the permanent rules has […]
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) cited Foster Poultry Farms, Inc., of Livingston and four staffing agencies for not protecting workers from COVID-19. The agency proposed that Foster Farms pay fines totaling $181,500.
Federal and state workplace safety and health authorities have yet to provide employers with clear guidance after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lifted recommendations for face coverings and social distancing for people fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
On May 14, the National Safety Council (NSC) expressed cautious support for updated COVID-19 recommendations for fully vaccinated people from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC stated on May 13 that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or maintain physical distance from others in any indoor or […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) announcement that people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can shed their masks in many settings, including indoors, no doubt came as welcome news to mask-weary workers, but employers are warned not to relax rules too quickly.
On May 5, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) signed the HERO Act (S.1034B/A.2681B) into law, authorizing the state’s labor commissioner to establish a workplace safety and health standard for COVID-19 exposures. While the law applies to all workplaces in the state, under current federal regulations (29 CFR 1952.24), New York is only authorized to […]