b'COVID-19 and OSHA Saf et y Updat eGary Auman - Auman. Mahan & FurryAs I am sure we all suspected, the newchallenged for applying the General Duty Clause, such as administration has taken an acceleratedwith heat illness prevention, theCOVID-19?recognized and aggressive approach with regards tohazard? has existed for less than one year. So, the defense safety in the workplace. On January 21,available to employers to a General Duty Clause citation that 2021 President Biden issued anthe General Duty Clause may not be used by OSHA as a ?Executive Order on Protecting Workersubstitute for specific rulemaking very likely will not apply to Health and Safety.? In this Executivethe pandemic. OSHA has issued this guidance document and Order, the President stated that it is themay well, with the urging of President Biden, issue an policy of his administration to ensure theEmergency Temporary Standard within the next six weeks.health and safety of workers as a national priority and a moral imperative.The second reason for my statement is that OSHA has He further stated that the federal government must movecommunicated its finding that the pandemic is a ?recognized quickly to reduce the risk that workers may contract COVID ?hazard? which is ?causing or likely to cause death or serious 19 in the workplace. In Section 2 of the Executive Order, hephysical harm to employees? which are the elements stated that the Assistant Secretary of Labor shall issue, withinnecessary to invoke General Duty Clause. Again, whether you 2 weeks of the date of the Executive Order, revised guidanceagree with the ?science? that the pandemic meets this to employers on workplace safety during the COVID ? 19definition, I submit that none of you want to be in a position pandemic. He also required that the Assistant Secretary ofof having to defend yourself from a General Duty Clause Labor consider whether any emergency temporary standardscitation because you do not have a pandemic prevention on COVID ? 19 are necessary, and if it is determined that suchplan for your workforce.standards are necessary, they shall be issued by March 15, 2021. Presuming that you have developed the required pandemic protection program, I want to direct your attention to the The guidance document referred to in the Executive Order wasOSHA website and the coronavirus resources available issued on January 29 thand is 13 pages long and goes intothereon. The guidance document identifies 15 steps for quite a bit of detail. I will not go into the detail covered by theemployers to take to respond to COVID ? 19. Review those 15 guidance document but just touch upon some of the highelements and identify those that apply to your business and points. This guidance document can be found on the OSHAyour employees and, if you have not done so already, website at www.osha.gov under Coronavirus resources. OSHAdevelop your COVID ? 19 prevention program and be sure you states that employers should implement COVID ? 19include those elements that apply to your company. But, prevention programs. Your program should be developed by: please remember that developing the program is only 50% of what you need to accomplish. After you have the program, (1) conducting a hazard assessment;you need to communicate it to all your employees, remind (2) identifying a combination of measures that limitthem that you will be enforcing all the components of your the spread of COVID ? 19 in the workplace;program, and then you MUST enforce it. And you need to (3) adopting measures to ensure that workers who areensure that ALL your employees are abiding by the infected or potentially infected are separated andrequirements of your program.sent home from the workplace; and(4) implementing protections from retaliation forLet us take a look at those 15 elements, which can be found workers who raise COVID ? 19 related concerns. under the subheading ?The Rolls of Employers and Workers in Responding to COVID ? 19.? The initial step identified by While OSHA uses the word ?should,? employers who areOSHA is that ?the most effective COVID ? 19 prevention concerned for the well-being of their employees and who wishprograms engage workers and their representatives in the to avoid an OSHA General Duty Clause citation need to adoptprogram?s development and implementation of every step, a COVID ? 19 Prevention Program. As I have stated before, theand include the following elements:? The following is an current pandemic is a textbook example of Congress?soutline of the fifteen elements:intention when it drafted Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. I make this comment for 21. Assign a workplace coordinator to be responsible for reasons. COVID ? 19 issues on your behalf. I feel that this could be your corporate safety director, if he/she has been sufficientlyFirst, unlike some areas in which OSHA has been successfullytrained on COVID ? 19 issues.www.ohiomasonry.org6'