OSHA Releases COVID-19 Guidelines for Keeping a Safe Work Environment During the Pandemic

ATLANTA, April 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OSHA's COVID-19 guidelines instruct businesses on how to operate as safely as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. SMART Safety Group, an Atlanta safety consultant, briefly outlines some of these guidelines on its website. Businesses need to understand OSHA's guidelines so that they can protect their employees as much as possible. All companies have a legal obligation to provide their employees a safe work environment. Amidst the ongoing pandemic, COVID-19 is still a threat.

The bulk of the guidelines outline the components of a COVID-19 prevention program. A prevention program lessens the overall risk of contracting COVID-19, proving its effectiveness. Every program should have a workplace coordinator to oversee implementation and enforcement efforts. The company should conduct hazard assessments to identify unsafe or potentially unsafe work environments. In a COVID-19 context, this includes tight configurations that prevent social distancing. Other preventive measures include implementing physical distancing, using face coverings, and performing routine cleaning and disinfecting to curtail the spread. OSHA advises companies to deep clean any areas where suspected or confirmed COVID-19-infected people have been.

Employers should make special considerations for older workers and workers with disabilities or medical conditions. Workers with disabilities may be legally entitled to "reasonable accommodations" that protect them from the risk of contracting COVID-19, such as work-from-home options. To minimize quarantine's negative impact on employees, businesses can allow them to telework or work in an area isolated from others. If neither accommodation is possible, they can allow workers to use paid sick leave or consider implementing paid leave policies. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act gives eligible employers 100% reimbursement through tax credits to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19 through March 31, 2021.

Businesses are required to record cases of COVID-19 illness on Form 300 logs if they are confirmed as COVID-19, are work-related, and involve one or more relevant recording criteria. They also have to follow the requirements in 29 CFR 1904 when reporting COVID-19 fatalities and hospitalizations to OSHA.

SMART Safety Group helps businesses comply with the tangled web of OSHA requirements and recommendations. It strives to significantly reduce the number of accidents, violations, workers comp claims, and insurance premiums. SMART Safety simply makes the workplace smarter about safety. Businesses that wish to poise their workplaces for safety success should call (844) 820-8098 today.

About SMART Safety Group: 

Since 2003, SMART Safety Group has been safeguarding hundreds of employees in multiple industries ranging from food and beverage to construction, and even entertainment. SMART Safety believes in truly knowing a customer's business to develop the best safety program for the client. Its highly qualified team quickly integrates with customers' operations to drive safety excellence and establish long term partnerships. By reducing incidents and lost time, maintaining OSHA compliance and preventing fines, and lowering workers' compensation claims and insurance premiums, SMART Safety protects both employees and employers from the harmful consequences of unsafe work environments.

Check out SMART Safety's website: Website

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SOURCE SMART Safety Group