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While White House officials continue to review a planned federal emergency temporary standard (ETS) for COVID-19 vaccination or testing tied to employment, California regulators are working on renewing the state’s COVID-19 ETS. The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) is considering a second readoption of the state’s COVID-19 prevention ETS and released an […]
The governors of Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah all objected to plans by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to revoke federal approval of their states’ safety and health programs. The agency alleges the three state programs are less effective than federal safety and health enforcement because the states have not adopted OSHA’s […]
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) encouraged the state’s employers and workers to follow recently updated guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recommending that all individuals wear face coverings while indoors regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status. In California, masks are recommended for everyone in indoor settings and required for […]
On June 28, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an enforcement directive for its COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS), which only applies to healthcare and healthcare support services employers. The directive includes exemptions from inspection and enforcement under the ETS for a number of tasks and facilities, such as: Provision of first aid […]
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.
On April 22, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited and fined a Naperville, Illinois, logistics center following an outbreak of COVID-19 in which one worker died. The agency is seeking $12,288 in fines for a serious violation of the General Duty Clause.
While the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has yet to issue a federal emergency temporary standard (ETS) for workplace COVID-19 exposures, Michigan has extended its COVID-19 ETS through the fall. The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) announced the extension of Michigan’s emergency COVID-19 rules through October 14.
On January 21, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) directing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue updated employer guidance within 2 weeks on protecting workers from COVID-19. The EO also instructed the agency to consider establishing a COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) by March 15. It also ordered the Mine […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) provided updated resources on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for employers. These include a fact sheet on case investigation and contact tracing, critical infrastructure sector response planning, and information for school administrators and school nurses.
Oregon has proposed an emergency temporary standard for workplace coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission. While there is no federal workplace safety and health standard for coronavirus exposures, California has an airborne transmissible disease standard for certain workplaces, and Virginia approved an emergency temporary standard for COVID-19 in July.