OSHA has launched a new webpage dedicated to coronavirus-related guidance for construction employers and workers. The guidance on the webpage includes actions to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus.
OSHA said employers of workers engaged in construction should remain alert to changing outbreak conditions, including as they relate to community spread of the virus and testing availability. The administration advises construction employers implement infection prevention measures in accordance to the changing conditions in their localities.
OSHA’s new webpage introduces guidance, rather than new standards or regulations, and creates no new legal obligations for construction employers. The resources included are advisory in nature and designed to assist employers in providing the safest and healthiest workplace possible.
The page includes information regarding the use of physical barriers to separate workers from individuals experiencing signs or symptoms consistent with the coronavirus and the staggering of work schedules to reduce the number of employees on a job site at any given time. The resource also includes information on limiting in-person meetings and keeping them short when absolutely necessary, information on screening calls when scheduling indoor construction work to assess potential exposures before entry, and information on requesting good air flow in shared spaces in environments where construction activities are being performed.
In addition to its construction resource website, OSHA recently adopted two revised policies for enforcing requirements and standards with respect to the coronavirus. The administration announced it is increasing in person inspections and issued new enforcement guidance related to such inspections. OSHA also revised its previous enforcement policy for recording cases of coronavirus. The virus is a recordable illness and employers are responsible for recording cases if the case is work-related and involves one or more general recording criteria, according to OSHA.
