OSHA is Here To Help

Greetings:

I hope that this finds you healthy and safe during this difficult period of SARS-CoV2 (which causes coronavirus COVID-19) pandemic In response to the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, OSHA Region IV is providing outreach, materials and guidance to employers who may have employees at risk for exposure while performing duties in the workplace. OSHA has a Worker Exposure Risk Chart [gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com], categorizing jobs as very high risk, high risk, medium risk and lower risk.

As part of this outreach program, compliance assistance products are readily available to assist your company in enhancing its safety and health program. OSHA’s webpage OSHA’s COVID-19 [gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com] provides compliance assistance resources to help employers identify COVID-19 exposure hazards, procedures and guidance to protect employees in a number of jobs from these hazards. This page has OSHA Alerts for the Construction Industry, Manufacturing, Package Delivery Workforce and Retail Workers. It also describes the OSHA standards that may apply to protecting workers from SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus COVID-19. OSHA’s Control and Prevention [gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com] page provides guidance for controlling risks for worker exposure and contain specific guidance for:

• Airline operations [osha.gov]
• Border protection and transportation security [osha.gov]
• Business travelers [osha.gov]
• Construction [osha.gov]
• Correctional facility operations [osha.gov]
• Dentistry [osha.gov]
• Emergency response and public safety [osha.gov]
• Environmental (i.e., janitorial) services [osha.gov]
• Farmworkers [cdc.gov] (developed in partnership with CDC)
• Healthcare [osha.gov]
• In-home repair services [osha.gov]
• Laboratories [osha.gov]
• Manufacturing [cdc.gov] (developed in partnership with CDC)
• Meat and poultry processing [cdc.gov] (developed in partnership with CDC)
• Postmortem care [osha.gov]
• Retail operations [osha.gov]
• Solid waste and wastewater management [osha.gov]
• Travel to areas [cdc.gov] where the virus is spreading

If you do not have access to the Internet, please contact our local area office and we will provide copies of this information to you free of charge. Your local Area Office [gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com] is available to answer questions and concerns. 

OSHA also funds a free consultation program under Section 21(d) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act for small employers. The consultation program helps employers to identify and correct hazardous conditions at their worksites, as well as improve occupational safety and health management systems. These programs are well staffed with highly trained safety and health professionals. To schedule an on-site consultation visit, please contact your local consultation program (Consultation Directory [gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com]).

Thank you for your interest in protecting the safety and health of your workforce.

Robert E. Vazzi, CIH

Compliance Assistance Specialist

Occupational Safety and Health Administration