OSHA watch

New resources - COVID-19

Guidelines for reopening non-essential businesses
The document lays out a three-phase reopening strategy. It lists recommendations for each phase and provides examples of how to implement hazard assessments, controls, hygiene practices, physical distancing, identification and isolation of ill employees, and training, among other topics.
Cloth face coverings
The FAQ addresses six questions related to face coverings:
1. What are the key differences between cloth face coverings, surgical masks, and respirators?
2. Are employers required to provide cloth face coverings to workers?
3. Should workers wear a cloth face covering while at work, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation for all people to do so when in public?
4. If workers wear cloth face coverings, do employers still need to ensure social distancing measures in the workplace?
5. If I wear a reusable cloth face covering, how should I keep it clean?
6. Are surgical masks or cloth face coverings acceptable respiratory protection in the construction industry, when respirators would be needed but are not available because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Special website for construction
Aimed at reducing COVID-19 exposure among construction workers, the new website includes a table that describes work tasks and their exposure risk level (from "very high" to "lower"). The website also covers engineering and administrative controls, safe work practices, and PPE. In the administrative controls section are screening questions employers should ask before sending workers into "an indoor environment that may be occupied by a homeowner, customer, worker or another occupant," and recommended actions based on the answers to those questions.
New industry-specific guidance
Agricultural workers: Interim guidance issued jointly with CDC
Retail pharmacy workers safety alert
Stockroom and loading dock workers safety alert
Seafood processing industry workers safety alert
All industry-specific guidances released to date can be found here in English and Spanish.
Respiratory poster available in 16 languages
Posters that show how to properly wear and remove a respirator are now available in 16 languages.
CDC fact sheets for airport, airline and transit employers
Guidance and resources from state OSHA programs
- Michigan guidance for manufacturing industry
- Minnesota guidance for meat packing industry

California becomes first state to adopt standard to protect agricultural employees working at night

A new workplace safety standard to protect agricultural employees who work at night became effective July 1 and will be enforced by Cal/OSHA. It's designed to protect agricultural workers who harvest, operate vehicles, and do other jobs between sunset and sunrise.

Judge rejects AFL-CIO lawsuit calling for emergency temporary standard on infectious disease

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on June 11 rejected an AFL-CIO lawsuit calling on the Department of Labor and OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on infectious diseases.

Virginia is creating COVID-19 emergency workplace standard

The state's Safety and Health Codes Board voted June 24 to create an emergency temporary standard, which essentially requires employers to follow CDC guidelines or face fines. The proposed standards are expected to go into effect July 15.

DOL Inspector General review of OSHA actions during pandemic

Faced with mounting criticism about the agency's response to the pandemic, the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General issued a three-page report on June 17. The report notes responding to the "significant increase" in worker and whistleblower complaints during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with completing inspections and investigations, all in a timely manner, are among the challenges facing OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration, given the limited resources available. OSHA has six months to issue a citation and proposed penalties.

Employers' injury, illness data is public information

Data from Form 300A is not confidential and there are no restrictions on its dissemination according to a court ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit made by the nonprofit news organization Center for Investigative Reporting under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking information from OSHA Forms 300A, 300 and 301 forms. The agency no longer collects information from Forms 300 and 301.

Guidance to ensure uniform enforcement of Silica Standards

A compliance directive was issued, designed to ensure uniformity in inspection and enforcement procedures when addressing respirable crystalline silica exposures in general industry, maritime, and construction. The directive provides compliance safety and health officers with guidance on how to enforce the silica standards' requirements and provides clarity on major topics, such as alternative exposure control methods when a construction employer does not fully and properly implement Table 1, variability in sampling, multi-employer situations, and temporary workers.

Trenching webinar

A webinar on trench safety hosted by the agency and the American Society of Safety Professionals is available free online.

Recent fines and awards

Florida

Inspected under the Regional Emphasis Program for Falls in Construction, CJM Roofing Inc., based in West Palm, was cited for exposing employees to fall and other hazards at three residential worksites in Jensen Beach and Port St. Lucie. The contractor faces penalties totaling $199,711.
Inspected under the Regional Emphasis Program for Falls in Construction, Action Roofing Services, Inc., based in Pompano Beach, was cited for exposing employees to fall hazards at a worksite in Boca Raton, Florida. The roofing contractor faces $51,952 in penalties.
Two construction contractors, CMR Construction & Roofing LLC of Panama City, and Modern Construction Experts LLC of Stuart, were cited for failing to protect employees from fall hazards at a construction worksite in Panama City. The two companies face $126,169 in penalties. An employee fatally fell 84 feet while working on the roof of a hotel.
After receiving notice of an employee hospitalized after a trench collapse, an inspection was initiated at Florida Progress LLC, operating as Duke Energy Florida LLC. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based electric power distributor faces $53,976 in penalties for exposing employees to excavation hazards at a Zephyrhills, Florida, worksite.

Georgia

Norfolk Southern Railway Corp. has been ordered to reinstate and pay more than $150,000 in back wages for whistleblower violations after terminating an employee for reporting an on-the-job injury at its Atlanta facility, and also filing an alleged violation report with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The company was also ordered to pay the employee $75,000 in punitive damages, $10,000 in compensatory damages, and attorney's fees.
Inspected under the National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation, Construction Management & Engineering Services Inc. was cited for exposing employees to excavation hazards at a Duluth worksite. The Norcross-based construction contractor faces $134,937 in penalties.

Illinois

Grain firm Farmers Elevator Co., Manteno, received citations for two willful and three serious violations and a fine of $205,106 after a worker died at its Grant Park facility when he fell into a grain bin. The company was placed in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

Nebraska

A federal appeals court confirmed a serious citation issued to Jacobs Field Services North America Inc. for failing to ensure "appropriate" personal protective equipment was worn by an electrician who was seriously burned. While the company argued that the work area was "deenergized" and fell under an "Electrically Safe Work Condition," as well as unpreventable employee misconduct, the judge found the company had violated the standard requiring PPE when "there are potential electrical hazards."

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