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The COVID-19 outbreak is at top of mind for environment, health, and safety (EHS) professionals nationwide.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board will weigh a third renewal of the state’s COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) this week at its April 21 meeting. If adopted, the proposed ETS would emphasize hand-washing, personal protective equipment (PPE), testing and worker removal, and ventilation as hazard controls rather than cleaning and disinfection. The […]
In its attempts to protect workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) failed to collaborate or coordinate efforts with other federal agencies, the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) concluded in a new report. The OIG pointed out the number of OSHA compliance safety and health officers […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) should establish federal workplace standards regarding ventilation, appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), physical distancing, and other basic public health precautions in anticipation of future surges in COVID-19 infections, according to a group of public health experts. In a report titled “Getting to and Sustaining the Next Normal: […]
Are you ready for a wave of new federal worker safety and health regulations? OSHA is moving forward with several rulemakings, three of which are healthcare-specific, that could affect many employers. If you’re in the healthcare field, you could be facing a permanent COVID-19 standard based on the agency’s 2021 emergency temporary standard (ETS) and […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has scheduled an April 27 public hearing on establishing a permanent healthcare COVID-19 standard. The agency is seeking input on changes to its June 21, 2021, emergency temporary standard (ETS). All but the recordkeeping provisions of the ETS was withdrawn on December 27. The agency does not plan […]
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 […]