OSHA submitted its proposed permanent COVID-19 healthcare standard to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review on Dec. 7. The agency officially withdrew its COVID-19 healthcare emergency temporary standard (ETS) on Dec. 22, 2021, and declared it would continue working on issuing a permanent standard as quickly as possible. Review by […]
New research reveals that production, maintenance, construction, healthcare support and food preparation workers had the highest levels of infection early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study was conducted before the introduction of vaccines so the results weren’t influenced by differences in vaccination rates between occupational groups. NIOSH […]
The Cal/OSHA Standards Board declared Nov. 17 that there will be no further modifications made to the proposed non-emergency COVID-19 standard that’s due to be voted on Dec. 15. This marks the end of some uncertainty brought about after the initial publication of the proposed non-emergency standard that had concerned both employers and workers, according […]
A new National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study found that one in five workers surveyed outside of the healthcare industry reported being exposed to COVID-19 at work. Of the 1,111 respondents, 19.4% reported exposure to COVID-19 at work, 23.4% reported exposure outside of work only, and 57.2% reported no known exposure or […]
On Oct. 14, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) updated the definition of close contact under the Third Revised COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). This definition had been broadened in June 2022 when “within 6 feet” was changed to sharing the same airspace as a positive case for 15 minutes within a 24-hour […]
The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board is still considering whether it should adopt a proposed COVID-19 Permanent Standard to replace the state’s current emergency standard. On Sept. 15, the board held a public hearing to discuss replacing the COVID-19 emergency temporary standard, which will expire Dec. 31, 2022, with the proposed COVID-19 Permanent […]
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new COVID-19 guidance Aug. 11, seeming to acknowledge that the virus is here to stay. The agency seems to be shifting “its focus from viral containment to lessening the risk of severe illness and death associated with the virus,” according to attorneys Corbin Carter and […]
Cal/OSHA updated its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) FAQ page July 18 to address the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) revised definition of the term “close contact.” The CDPH updated the definition in early June, stating that close contact was “someone sharing the same indoor airspace (e.g., home, clinic waiting room, airplane, etc.) for […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its COVID-19 FAQ page July 12, limiting COVID testing in the workplace just as coronavirus cases are rising once again. However, the guidance doesn’t offer a lot of specifics and it still defers to current guidance from other agencies such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control […]
