OUT IN FRONT: NEW LAW SETS HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS FOR VIRGINIA EMPLOYERS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

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The Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) Program and Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) have put into place an Emergency Temporary Standard (COVID-19 Regulations)[i], making Virginia the first state in the United States to have mandatory workplace health and safety requirements related to COVID-19.

Why should I care about these new COVID regulations?

The COVID-19 Regulations are effective now– as of July 27, 2020–and Virginia employers must take note.  These COVID-19 Regulations are complex, thorough, and impose significant requirements, some with specific deadlines.  Employers who have been following CDC recommendations likely have a good start on complying with the new requirements, but must carefully compare their COVID-19 mitigation efforts to Virginia’s very specific requirements.  Whether you are an essential business that as continued operations through the beginning of the pandemic, are slowing returning more workers to the workplace, or are just now re-opening, it is essential that you carefully review the new COVID-19 Regulations and implement them.

Failure to comply with the COVID-19 Regulations can result in enforcement actions, legal proceedings, and fines of $13,047 per each serious violation.  Egregious or “willful” violations can lead to fines of $130,463 per violation. Additionally, employers face inspections and the time and costs of compliance if inspections occur.

Who is covered?  The majority of employers with two or more employees in Virginia are covered—including almost all private and public employers, as well as non-profits.

What must employers do and when must they do it?

The COVID-19 Regulations create significant requirements with steps that must be taken (1) immediately, (2) by August 26, 2020, and (3) by September 25, 2020.

Effective IMMEDIATELY you must:

• Determine Exposure: Importantly, the legal obligations for employers are not one-size-fits-all. The COVID-19 Regulations require employers to assess workplace hazards and job tasks that their employees perform, and then classify those job tasks into one of the following categories—known as the exposure risk level:
• Very high: risk hazards or job tasks in places of employment with high potential for employee exposure to known or suspected sources of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including during some specific medical, postmortem, or laboratory procedures;
• High: risk hazards or job tasks in places of employment with high potential for employee exposure inside six feet with known or suspected sources of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including many healthcare and first responder settings;
• Medium: risk hazards or job tasks not otherwise classified as very high or high exposure risk in places that require more than minimal occupational contact inside six feet with other persons who may be infected with SARS-CoV-2, but are not known or suspected to be infected. Examples are numerous and include retail stores, meat and poultry processing, restaurants and bars, commercial transportation of passengers, schools; daycare; salons and spas, other healthcare situations and care facilities, and contact tracers.
• Lower: risk hazards or job tasks not otherwise classified as very high, high, or medium and that do not require contact inside six feet with others (e.g. as in an office setting) or are able to achieve minimal occupational contact through controls, such as physical barriers, teleworking, staggered work shifts, delivering services remotely, and mandatory physical distancing.

Depending on the exposure risk levels present at the workplace, the employer is then obligated to assess and comply with varying levels of engineering, administrative, work practice, and personal protective equipment controls to limit exposure.  The controls that may apply are wide-ranging — from required air handling systems, to face coverings, curbside delivery, telework, flexible work hours and worksites, and/or physical barriers, among others.

• Where possible, ensure that employees observe six feet physical distancing, and, where not possible, comply with respiratory protection and personal protective equipment standards in the industry;
• Close or control access to common areas, breakrooms, and lunchrooms; require cleaning and disinfecting after use; and provide hand washing facilities and hand sanitizer to employees in these spaces;
• Sanitize and disinfect:
  • Surfaces contacted during interaction with customers, the general public, and others;
  • Areas where known or suspected infected persons accessed or worked;
  • All common spaces, shared equipment, workspaces, and vehicles;
  • Areas in the place of employment to otherwise comply with VOSH industry sanitation standards;
  • Ensure approved cleaning and disinfecting products are readily available to employees and that manufacturer’s instructions for use of these products are complied with;
  • Provide easy, frequent access and permission to use soap and water and hand sanitizer, where feasible, especially for employees assigned to a work station with frequent interaction inside six feet and employees who work on mobile crews; and
  • Prevent cross-contamination between job tasks.
• Provide personal protective equipment (PPE) when other controls are not feasible or do not provide sufficient protections;
• Inform employees of the methods of self-monitoring for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and encourage employees to self-monitor;
• Ensure sick leave policies are flexible and consistent with public health guidance and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and that employees are aware of these policies.
• Develop and implement policies and procedures for employees to report:
  • Symptoms consistent with COVID-19 where no alternative diagnosis has been made.
  • Positive COVID-19 tests by employees, subcontractors, contract employees, and temporary employees present at the employer’s workplace within the previous 14 days from the date of the positive test.
• Do not permit employees known to be infected with COVID-19 or “suspected to be infected” with COVID-19 based on symptoms to report to or remain at the worksite or at another location, except for teleworking;
• Notify individuals who may have been exposed within 24 hours of learning of a positive COVID-19 test of an individual who was in the workplace within 14 days from the date of the positive test:
  • Employees who may have been exposed (while maintaining confidentiality of the person(s) testing positive);
  • Other employers whose employees were present at the workplace (while maintaining confidentiality of the person(s) testing positive);
  • The building or facility owner where the workplace is located;
  • The Virginia Department of Health; and
  • The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry if three or more employees present at the place of employment within a 14-day period test positive.
• Develop and implement policies for known and suspected positive employees to return to work using either a symptom-based or test-based strategy, including for employees known to be infected, but who were asymptomatic;
• Cover the cost of COVID-19 testing required by the employer for return to work purposes; and
• Ensure compliance with mandatory requirements of any Virginia executive order or order of public health emergency.

 By AUGUST 26, 2020, you must Train and Educate employees:

• Employers with hazards or job tasks that are classified as very high, high or medium exposure risk must provide training to all employees at that place of employment on a variety of COVID-related topics, safe and healthy work practices, and the requirements and protections of the new regulations. Employees must retain training certification records for each employee.
• For employers with only lower risk jobs, they must provide orally or in writing information concerning COVID-19 hazards, symptoms and measures to minimize exposure, as well as requirements of the new regulations. The easiest way to comply with this is to post an information that the Department of Labor and Industry is developing.
• Employers must retrain employees on these topics if they have reason to believe they have not developed understanding and skills required by the regulations, including where (1) there are changes in the workplace, job tasks, or COVID hazards in the workplace; (2) there are changes to the employer’s Infections Disease Preparedness and Response Plan; or (3) the employee shows inadequate knowledge or use of measures to control the spread of COVID-19.
• The Department of Labor and Industry has provided some resources for training and education, here: https://www.doli.virginia.gov/covid-19-outreach-education-and-training/

By SEPTEMBER 25, 2020: Written Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plan:

• Employers with hazards or job tasks classified as very high or high, or medium with eleven or more employees must also develop and implement a written Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plan. This is a detailed and comprehensive plan with multiple subparts required by the COVID-19 Regulations.
• Employers who must develop an Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plan must train employees on this plan on or before September 25, 2020.

The COVID-19 Regulations also prohibit employers from discriminating or retaliating against an employee for complaining about COVID-19 related safety conditions or for using their own personal protective equipment in the workplace.  Employers cannot prohibit employees from wearing gloves, a mask, a respirator, or a face shield, employers cannot prohibit, unless doing so creates a greater hazard to the employee or to others.

It is important to note that the COVID-19 Regulations supplement and enhance existing VOSH rules, regulations, and standards.  To the extent the new standard conflicts with an existing VOSH rule, regulation, or standard, the more stringent requirement applies.

Please be advised there are provisions of the COVID-19 Regulations that are not covered in this post, that this post is a summary, and that the above examples are not specific to every employer’s situation. This post is not meant to provide legal advice.  Attorneys at Wharton, Aldhizer & Weaver are available to assist with compliance, as well as VOSH inspections and/or enforcement procedures, and to answer any questions on these matters.

[i] The full text of the Emergency Temporary Standard is here: https://www.doli.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/RIS-filed-RTD-Final-ETS-7.24.2020.pdf