Not many people like to be told what to do – especially by the federal government – but complying with tighter OSHA standards and keeping your workforce intact are good for business.


Employer efforts to protect workers from Covid-19 are a focus of the Biden Administration. On January 21, the President issued an



Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety


, which, among other things, requires the Labor Department to:



  • “review [OSHA] enforcement efforts […] related to COVID-19 and identify any short-, medium-, and long-term changes that could be made to better protect workers and ensure equity in enforcement”; and



  • “focus OSHA enforcement efforts related to COVID-19 on violations that put the largest number of workers at serious risk or are contrary to anti-retaliation principles.”



Compliance




To prepare for the heightened enforcement efforts, employers should periodically review



OSHA’s Covid-19 webpage


.




For contractors, OSHA offers



construction-specific guidance



intended to help protect their workforce, including:




  • using personal protective equipment (PPE) “necessary to protect workers from other job hazards associated with construction activities” [1];



  • training workers on how to put on, use and remove protective clothing and equipment;





  • cleaning and disinfecting portable jobsite toilets and providing hand-sanitizer dispensers.



Other construction-specific OSHA guidance (see “Construction Work”) includes task-specific precautions, engineering controls, administrative controls, and useful details concerning safe work practices and PPE. The administrative controls include sample screening questions that employers should ask before sending employees to work indoors if the area may also be occupied by other people.


[1]Although the CDC recommends using cloth face coverings as a protective measure against COVID,



it is not an appropriate substitute for PPE


.



Violations




OSHA standards can result in fines on contractors for Covid-19-related violations. Some pertinent



standards



govern:




  • access to employee exposure and medical records;

  • sanitation;



  • personal protective equipment;



  • eye and face protection; and



  • respiratory protection.




In addition, Covid-19 could be a



recordable illness



that must be included on a contractor’s OSHA 300 log, if:




  • there is a confirmed case of Covid-19;







Failure to adequately ensure workplace safety could result in an investigation by OSHA and significant fines.



OSHA Penalty Increases




On January 8, OSHA announced its intention to increase its



maximum penalties for 2021


:



Type of Violation / Penalty per Violation




  • Serious / Other-Than-Serious / Posting Requirements:



    $13,653




  • Failure to Abate:



    $13,653 per day



    beyond the abatement date





  • Willful or Repeated:



    $136,532 per violation



With these increasing penalties, it becomes that much more important to achieve OSHA compliance by reviewing your internal policies and procedures regarding worker health and safety.




For help with an OSHA compliance issue,



contact your Lang & Klain attorney


.