OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard Published in Federal Register – Effective Dates in July 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) for health care employers. It applies to most long term care providers, but some home care and hospice settings and off-site health care support services are exempt.
Employers must comply with all requirements except for requirements associated with physical barriers, ventilation, and training by July 6, 2021. Employers must comply with the requirements associated with physical barriers, ventilation, and training by July 21, 2021.
LeadingAge National has provided a summary of the new regulations here. Members will note that they are already taking many of the actions required. Some new requirements include:
- Designating a safety coordinator to ensure compliance;
- Developing a workplace-specific hazard assessment, in collaboration with non-managerial employees;
- Informing employees of their rights under the ETS and not retaliating against employees who exercise their rights under the ETS or engage in actions required by the ETS;
- Maintaining a COVID-19 log of all employee instances of COVID-19, without regard to occupational exposure.
In addition, the regulations continue the requirement to report work-related COVID-19 fatalities and in-patient hospitalizations to OSHA.
Contact: Sara Neitzel, sneitzel@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8835