Items Tagged with 'Coronavirus'

Tumwater, WA — Fully vaccinated workers in Washington state do not have to wear masks or follow physical distancing protocol unless otherwise required to do so by their employer, according to updated COVID-19 workplace safety and health guidance from the state’s Department of Labor & Industries.

Davis, CA — U.S. counties that are home to beef-, pork- and poultry-processing plants experienced accelerated COVID-19 infection rates during the pandemic, according to a recent study led by a researcher at the University at California, Davis.

Lansing, MI — In addition to updating its temporary COVID-19 emergency rules intended to clarify employer requirements for protecting workers from exposure, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration has rescinded a draft of permanent COVID-19 rules.

San Francisco — Slightly more than 70% of employers expect their workers to want a hybrid model when their physical workplace reopens, but only 55% plan to offer that option, according to the results of a recent survey.

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration once again is extending temporary hours-of-service exemptions and other “regulatory relief” for commercial motor vehicle drivers transporting items intended to assist with COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts.

The NSC-led initiative wants to help employers ‘understand the spectrum of what they can do’ to safely return employees to the workplace.

As with all workplace safety and health efforts, staying safe in the future world of work will be the combined effort of employers taking the right steps to reduce risk and employees doing their part to look out for themselves and each other.

Portland, ME — A new online training course launched by the University of Southern Maine’s Cutler Institute focuses on protecting retail workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — Citing “continued concerns regarding personal protective equipment shortages in the agricultural sector,” the Environmental Protection Agency has extended until Sept. 30 the provision on “annual fit test delay” in temporary guidance intended to help protect workers who handle agricultural pesticides against exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — OSHA is reviewing new COVID-19-related guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for fully vaccinated people and anticipates an update of its own guidance materials in the near future, the agency says on its COVID-19 website.