OSHA Issues New Guidance for Employers Combating COVID-19

Katharine C. Weber, Patricia Anderson Pryor & Tara K. Burke

Jackson Lewis P.C.

On Jan. 29, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace. The Guidance incorporates much of the existing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adds to guidance OSHA previously issued, and reflects strategies and practices familiar to many employers.

The Guidance, which is intended for non-healthcare employers, is not mandatory and does not have the same legal effect as an OSHA standard. Nevertheless, it provides insight into OSHA’s views and previews what the agency may include in an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which the Biden administration has directed OSHA to consider and potentially implement by Mar. 15, 2021. OSHA’s Guidance provides all employers an important opportunity to review their COVID-19 prevention strategies.

Lawyers from our Disability, Leave and Health Management Practice Group and our Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group discuss OSHA’s Guidance here.

***This article originally appeared on the Jackson Lewis’ Disability, Leave & Health Management blog and was reposted on the DMEC website with their permission.***