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(The Center Square) â COVID-19-related safety restrictions on Virginia businesses will be in place indefinitely, a state regulatory board decided.
Despite efforts from the business community and some of the board members to include an expiration date, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industryâs Safety and Health Codes Board voted Wednesday to adopt permanent standards. The restrictions will stay in place until the board schedules a meeting to repeal them.
Over the two-day board discussion, board member Courtney Malveaux offered failed amendments to hold off permanent standards.
One failed amendment would have set a six-month expiration date on restrictions to force the board to meet again in June to decide whether to extend the restrictions, let them expire or adopt permanent standards. Another failed amendment would have postponed a vote for a 30-day period in which members of the public could provide input.
New Jersey has promulgated COVID-19 restrictions that cover workplaces as well.
In addition to CDC and OSHA guidelines, the Emergency Temporary Standard includes provisions that require employers to:
Provide telework and staggered shifts when feasible;
Provide both handwashing stations and hand sanitizer when feasible;
Assess risk levels of employees and suppliers before entry;
Notify the Virginia Department of Health of positive COVID-19 tests;
Notify VOSH of three or more positive COVID-19 tests within a two-week period;
Assess hazard levels of all job tasks;
Provide COVID-19 training of all employees within 30 days (except for low-hazard places of employment);
Prepare infectious disease preparedness and response plans within 60 days;
by Tyler Arnold, The Center Square | January 13, 2021 12:00 PM Print this article
A Virginia state board voted against a measure Tuesday that would make COVID-19 restrictions on businesses expire in six months and have yet to vote on a measure to make them permanent.
The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry Safety and Health Codes Board is considering language that would make the business regulations permanent, which means they would not expire until the board takes action to repeal them.
Board member Courtney Malveaux proposed an amendment that would set an expiration date in six months and require the board to meet again to decide whether to make the restrictions permanent, extend them longer or sunset the regulations. His amendment failed.
On July 15, 2020, Virginia became the first state in the nation to promulgate an
Emergency Temporary Standard to address COVID-19 in workplaces. Even with vaccine deliveries on the way, Virginia has proposed a Permanent Standard for consideration by the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board (which includes author Courtney Malveaux).
The Emergency Temporary Standard
Since July 27, 2020, Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH), the state counterpart of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), has enforced an Emergency Temporary Standard that mandates and, in some instances, exceeds guidance issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and OSHA. The Emergency Temporary Standard covers most private employers in Virginia, as well as all state and local employees.