Federal Guidelines and Information

This list of COVID-19 resources for workplace safety and health and related topics is provided by NSC and OSHA. It is intended as a resource and is not comprehensive.

Antigen tests can detect current infection before an employee enters the workplace or returns to work. This type of screening is especially useful for employees who do not show any signs or symptoms, or have known exposure to COVID-19. It is also useful for workers at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19, like business travelers and those who work in crowded indoor spaces.

State and local public health officials and policy makers can compare three contact tracing strategies using COVIDTracer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "The tool allows you to vary estimates of the potential effectiveness of each strategy, the average number of contacts per case, and the time needed for case interviews and contact follow-up activities. COVIDTracer provides you with estimates of the number of personnel needed to conduct case investigations, contact tracing, and case and contact monitoring," as well as other information.

Loading Dock/Stock Workers
OSHA has issued safety tips in English and Spanish to protect stockroom and loading dock workers in the retail industry, including information on:

• Stocking during slow periods or when stores are closed
• How to stock while stores are open
• Social distancing and limiting the number of customers
• Coordinating with vendors to minimize stockroom and loading dock worker contact with delivery drivers

Construction Workers
OSHA launched a new webpage with coronavirus-related guidance for construction employers and workers, including information on:

• Using physical barriers, such as walls, closed doors or plastic sheeting, to separate workers from other individuals
• Keeping in-person meetings short, limiting the number of workers in attendance and social distancing
• Screening calls when scheduling indoor work to assess potential exposures risk
• Requesting home environments or other construction areas in occupied buildings have good air flow
• Staggering work schedules to reduce the number of employees on a job site at any given time

• Critical Infrastructure Industries: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce identifies industries that have a responsibility to maintain a normal work schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not an exhaustive list; state and local officials and critical industry partners should use their own judgment in balancing public safety and continued delivery of services.
• COVID-19 and Equal Employment Opportunity Laws: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission provides comprehensive information on COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act and Other EEO Laws. Topics include medical exams, confidentiality of medical information, hiring and onboarding, furloughs and layoffs, and more.
• Recording Cases of COVID-19: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration May 19, 2020, issued updated enforcement guidance for recording cases of COVID-19. This memorandum will remain in effect until further notice.
• Interim Enforcement Response Plan: OSHA also announced May 19, 2020, an updated Interim Enforcement Response Plan to provide instruction to OSHA area offices and compliance safety and health officers on handling coronavirus-related complaints, referrals and severe illness reports. The memorandum will remain in effect until further notice.
• Challenges in Complying with OSHA Standards: On April 16, 2020, OSHA issued a Memorandum on Discretion in Enforcement when Considering an Employer’s Good Faith Efforts During the COVID-19 Pandemic, which will remain in effect until further notice. Widespread business closures, restrictions on travel, limitations on group sizes, facility visitor prohibitions, and stay-at-home or shelter-in-place requirements may limit availability of employees, consultants or contractors who normally provide training, auditing, equipment inspections, testing and other essential safety and industrial hygiene services. During inspections, OSHA Area Offices will assess an employer's efforts to comply with standards that require annual or recurring audits, reviews, training or assessments and evaluate whether the employer has made good faith efforts to comply and, in situations where compliance was not possible, to ensure employees were not exposed to hazards for which they were not prepared or trained.

OSHA issued an alert listing steps employers can follow to implement social distancing in the workplace and to help protect workers from exposure to the coronavirus. Safety measures employers can implement include:

• Isolate any worker who begins to exhibit symptoms until they can either go home or leave to seek medical care
• Establish flexible worksites (e.g., telecommuting) and flexible work hours (e.g., staggered shifts) if feasible
• Stagger breaks and re-arrange seating in common break areas to maintain physical distance between workers
• In workplaces where customers are present, mark six-foot distances with floor tape in areas where lines form, use drive-through windows or curbside pickup, and limit the number of customers allowed at one time
• Move or reposition workstations to create more distance, and install plexiglass partitions
• Encourage workers to bring any safety and health concerns to the employer’s attention.

The new alert is available for download in English and Spanish.

Shortages in personal protective equipment and other supplies led to interim guidelines that should be practiced when necessary as a crisis strategy to ensure availability for all workers.

From the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

NIOSH shared the following journal articles as they pertain to a SAFER Task Force discussion on face shields June 24, 2020.

• Moving Personal Protective Equipment into the Community: Face Shields and Containment of COVID-19
• Face Shields for Infection Control: A Review
• Efficacy of Face Shields Against Cough Aerosol Droplets from a Cough Simulator

From the Federal Emergency Management Agency

• Fact Sheet: Personal Protective Equipment Preservation Best Practices
• Non-healthcare PPE Fact Sheet

From the Occupational Safety and Health Administration:

• OSHA released a new video and poster (available in English and Spanish) with step-by-step instructions on how to properly wear and remove a respirator.
• On April 24, 2020, OSHA issued Enforcement Guidance on Decontamination of Filtering Facepiece Respirators in Healthcare During the Coronavirus Pandemic. This memorandum provides interim guidance to Compliance Safety and Health Officers for enforcing the Respiratory Protection standard, 29 CFR § 1910.134, with regard to the reuse of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs). The guidance describes decontamination methods for FFRs contaminated with pathogens, and is not intended to facilitate re-use of FFRs laden with other contaminants (e.g., silica dust). It expands flexibilities outlined in OSHA's previous COVID-19 enforcement memoranda posted at www.osha.gov/enforcementmemos. The memorandum is limited to the current public health crisis.
• On April 8, 2020, OSHA issued Expanded Temporary Enforcement Guidance on Respiratory Protection Fit-Testing for N95 Filtering Facepieces in All Industries During the COVID-19 Pandemic. The memorandum expands the temporary enforcement guidance provided in OSHA’s March 14 memorandum on enforcing annual fit-testing requirements of the Respiratory Protection standard, 29 CFR § 1910.134(f)(2), with regard to supply shortages of N95s or other filtering facepiece respirators. The March 14 guidance applied to healthcare; it now applies to all workplaces covered by OSHA where there is required use of respirators.

• Managing Fatigue During Times of Crisis: CDC released this Guidance for Nurses, Managers and Other Healthcare Workers on managing fatigue due to increased physical, emotional and mental demands, and lack of sleep.
• OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 discusses preventing the spread of COVID-19, safe work practices and personal protective equipment based on risk of exposure. Available in English and Spanish.
• Preventing Workplace Exposure: The CDC offers general briefings and health alerts. For questions, contact 800-CDC-INFO, submit a web form inquiry or visit the CDC webpage on COVID-19.