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Salem, OR — An emergency temporary standard intended to protect workers in Oregon from exposure to COVID-19 is set to go into effect Nov. 16.

Washington — Aimed at ensuring proper ventilation in indoor workplaces amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a new OSHA safety alert lists measures employers and building managers should take.

Washington — The number of nonfatal work-related injuries and illnesses in the U.S. private sector remained unchanged in 2019, as did the incidence rate of total recordable cases, according to annual data released Nov. 4 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Trenton, NJ — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) on Oct. 28 signed an Executive Order that will require all employers in the state to follow health and safety protocols designed to protect workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Itasca, IL — The National Safety Council has acquired ORC HSE Strategies LLC, a move aimed at strengthening the council’s ability to provide workplace safety consulting services to employers and safety leaders at both the national and global levels.

Washington — The Department of Labor is advising OSHA and other enforcement agencies not to publish press releases – “absent extraordinary circumstances” – about fines and penalties levied against employers for worker safety and health violations “before achieving a successful outcome,” according to a DOL guidance memo obtained by The New York Times.

Washington — In an effort to dispel “incorrect claims” about the efficacy of N95 respirators to protect wearers against COVID-19 infection, OSHA has added a section on respirators and particle size to its series of answers to frequently asked questions on protecting workers from exposure to the coronavirus.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency has again updated its list of registered disinfectants that can help prevent and reduce the spread of COVID-19 – extending the total number of disinfectant products on the agency’s sortable, searchable database to more than 500.

Safety+Health presents the results of its annual salary survey – now with more information than before thanks to a partnership with the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.

Although it has long-standing roots in public health practice, contact tracing is a new concept for many employers trying to keep workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.