OSHA watch
Enforcement guidance revised for coronavirus reporting and inspections
Revised enforcement guidance for increased in-person inspections and recording cases of coronavirus was announced on May 19 and became effective May 26. See the first article, Coronavirus, Workers' Compensation and OSHA regulatory and legislative updates, for details.
Guidance on distancing
Recent guidance focuses on strategies to implement social distancing in the workplace. Spanish version. It urges employers to isolate workers showing symptoms of coronavirus until they can go home or seek medical care, establish flexible worksites and work hours, stagger breaks and rearrange seating in common areas to maintain social distance, mark social distancing with floor tape where customers are present and reposition work stations and install plastic partitions to create more distance. It also issued new procedures to make it easier for federal workers in high-risk industries to obtain workers compensation for COVID-19.
Coronavirus alerts: Industry specific recommended practices
In May, recommended business practices were released for food service, nursing homes and long-term care facilities, dental practitioners, retail pharmacies, and rideshare, taxi and car services. All business guidances released to date can be found here in English and Spanish.
COVID-19 Quick Tips Videos
New animated videos provide quick tips to keep workers safe from COVID-19:
- Proper stationing of workplaces with assembly lines and processing conveyors
- Delivery workers
- Drive-thru and curbside pickup
- Not sharing tools and equipment
For all the quick tip videos released related to coronavirus, including Spanish versions, go here.
Eight ways to protect meat processing workers from COVID-19
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Loren Sweatt outlined eight ways to protect meat processing workers from COVID-19.
Guidance is now available in English and Spanish.
COVID-19 Q & A: Social distancing in meat and poultry facilities
Q. In some areas of meat and poultry processing facilities, social distancing at 6 feet of distance may not be feasible in order to maintain continued operation at the maximum capacity possible. In these areas, are other controls, based on the hierarchy of controls outlined in the CDC/OSHA guidance (e.g., personal protective equipment) acceptable in order to maintain safe operations at the maximum capacity possible?
A. Employers should use the hierarchy of controls to control hazards and protect workers, including by first trying to eliminate hazards from the workplace, then implementing engineering controls followed by administrative controls and safe work practices, and finally, using personal protective equipment (PPE). When engineering controls, such as physical barriers, are not feasible in a particular workplace or for a certain operation, other types of controls, including PPE, may be considered in accordance with the hierarchy.
Poster and video show right way to put on, take off respirator
A poster and video detail seven steps to properly put on and remove a respirator at work.
Guidance and resources from state OSHA programs
Heat illness prevention
A new video on heat hazard recognition and prevention is available.
Cal/OSHA issued a news release reminding employers to protect outdoor workers from heat illness.
Construction safety
A virtual stand-down to prevent struck-by incidents in construction is now available to view.
Recent fines and awards
Florida
- Jax Utilities Management Inc. was cited for exposing employees to cave-in hazards at a Jacksonville worksite. Inspected as part of the National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation, the construction contractor faces $56,405 in penalties.
- Two contractors, Prestige Estates Property Management LLC of North Miami and Jesus Balbuena of Miami, face $44,146 in penalties for failure to protect employees from fall hazards at a construction worksite in North Miami. The investigation followed an employee's 20-foot fall from an aerial lift that led to fatal injuries.
- Flat Glass Distributors Inc. was cited for exposing employees to unguarded machinery, failure to implement and have a written lockout/tagout program, and electrical hazards at the Jacksonville fabrication and distribution facility. Inspected as part of the National Emphasis Program on Amputations, the custom glass shaping and cutting distributor faces $121,446 in penalties.
- Crown Roofing LLC was cited for exposing employees to fall hazards at a residential worksite in Tamarac. The Sarasota-based contractor faces penalties of $134,937. The inspection was initiated under the Regional Emphasis Program for Falls in Construction after inspectors observed employees working on roofs without fall protection.