Overview
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed the following guidance to assist employers and workers in safely returning to work and reopening businesses deemed by local authorities as "non-essential businesses" during the evolving Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Employers can use this guidance to develop policies and procedures to ensure the safety and health of their employees.
This guidance is intended to supplement the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' previously developed Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 and the White House's Guidelines for Opening up America Again. It focuses on the need for employers to develop and implement strategies for basic hygiene (e.g., hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfection), social distancing, identification and isolation of sick employees, workplace controls and flexibilities, and employee training. This guidance is based on the application of traditional infection prevention and industrial hygiene practices to a phased approach for reopening, as the White House guidelines describe.
Reopening should align with the lifting of stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders and other specific requirements of the Federal Government and state, local, tribal, and/or territorial (SLTT) governments across the United States, as well as with public health recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal requirements or guidelines. Employers should continually monitor federal, State, territorial, tribal, and local government guidelines for updated information about ongoing community transmission and mitigation measures, as well as for evolving guidance on disinfection and other best practices for worker protection. Where applicable, these guidelines may supplement state- or locality-specific information and re-opening requirements.
The CDC provides the latest information about the COVID-19 pandemic at: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov.
OSHA provides specific information for workers and employers about the COVID-19 pandemic at: www.osha.gov/coronavirus.
The National Governors Association provides a state-bystate summary of public health criteria in reopening plans at: www. nga.org/coronavirus-reopening-plans.
Planning for Reopening
All employers should monitor SLTT health department communications to understand how the communities in which their workplaces are located are progressing through the reopening phases identified in the Guidelines for Opening up America Again. The guidelines provide general principles for relaxing restrictions that were put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. Employers should continue to consider ways to utilize workplace flexibilities, such as remote work (i.e., telework), and alternative business operations to provide goods (e.g., curbside pickup) and services to customers.
During all phases of reopening, employers should implement strategies for basic hygiene (e.g., hand hygiene; cleaning and disinfection), social distancing, identification and isolation of sick employees, workplace controls and flexibilities, and employee training that are appropriate for the particular phase.
In general, during:
- Phase 1: Businesses should consider making telework available, when possible and feasible with business operations. For employees who return to the workplace, consider limiting the number of people in the workplace in order to maintain strict social distancing practices. Where feasible, accommodations (i.e., flexibilities based on individual needs) should be considered for workers at higher risk of severe illness, including elderly individuals and those with serious underlying health conditions. Businesses should also consider extending special accommodations to workers with household members at higher risk of severe illness. Non-essential business travel should be limited.
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Originally published 07 July, 2020
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.