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The COVID-19 outbreak is at top of mind for environment, health, and safety (EHS) professionals nationwide.
National COVID-19 occupational safety and health guidelines that include providing face coverings or personal protective equipment (PPE) and instituting face covering policies were associated with lowered COVID-19 risk, according to a new study. Brigham Young University researchers looked at how closely COVID-19 occupational safety and health guidelines in 36 countries conformed to recommendations from the […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has directed its area offices and state partners to ramp up COVID-19 health and safety enforcement in healthcare facilities. The agency described it as a “highly focused, short-term inspection initiative directed at hospitals and skilled nursing care facilities.” The 3-month enforcement surge in high-hazard healthcare facilities lasts from […]
After the Supreme Court’s stay of the emergency temporary standard (ETS) regarding COVID-19 in January, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is turning to the other options it has to continue regulating and enforcing COVID-related health and safety violations. In a recent webinar, Eric J. Conn and Lindsay A. DiSalvo of Conn Maciel Carey […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will issue updated employer guidance for controlling workplace COVID-19 exposures as part of a new White House National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan announced March 2. The updated guidance will address COVID-19-related workplace health issues that include: Employer promotion of and support for employee vaccinations and boosters; Accommodations for immunocompromised […]
While universal masking alone provided a reduced level of exposure to infectious particles, researchers with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found evidence supporting a layered approach—physical distancing, ventilation, and masking—to control the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Results of a study out of NIOSH’s Health Effects Laboratory in […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) urged healthcare employers to address a spike in workplace illnesses and injuries among their employees. There was a 249% increase in injury and illness rates in 2020 among nursing assistants, according to the agency, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. There was a 38.3% increase across private […]
The respiratory protection needs of many U.S. workers are not being met, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine published February 10. Many independent contractors and self-employed and “gig” workers are not considered employees or employers and are not covered by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, […]
In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at EHS Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber asking about whether or not temperature screenings for employees and building guests are a HIPAA violation. See what the experts had to say. Q: Are temperature […]
On episode 98 of EHS On Tap, Devjani Mishra, an attorney who heads up Littler’s COVID-19 Task Force, talks about what the Supreme Court’s recent decision on COVID vaccine requirements means for employers.
While there currently is no limitation on N95 respirator availability, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers found humidity helps decontaminate reused filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs). When supplies of N95 FFRs were low or unavailable in 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended FFR reuse as a crisis strategy. The […]