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On January 13, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s Safety and Health Codes Board voted to enact a permanent workplace safety rule to protect employees from COVID-19 exposure, making Virginia one of the first states in the US to impose COVID-19-specific safety requirements on public and private employers of all sizes. The permanent rule largely mirrors the board’s temporary emergency workplace safety standards, which were passed in July, and in key respects mandates and even exceeds the guidance issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The new rule is expected to go into effect no later than January 27 and will remain in effect until the board approves its repeal.
(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.
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On January 13, 2021, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board (VSHCB) approved a measure implementing permanent workplace safety measures in response to COVID-19. Previously in May 2020, Virginia became the first state to issue temporary COVID-19 workplace safety standards when Governor Ralph Northam issued an executive order requiring most private employers provide personal protective equipment to their employees, ensure social distancing in the workplace, and sanitize workstations, among other measures. For more information on Virginia’s emergency workplace safety rules, please see FordHarrison’s July 17 and July 29, 2020 Legal Alerts.
The permanent rule, expected to take effect following Governor Northam’s review, primarily mirrors the temporary standards which are set to expire on January 26, 2021. The permanent rule continues to classify jobs in categories of high, medium, and low exposure risk and requires e
We’ve reported, at length, on Virginia’s first-in-the-nation, state-wide, temporary COVID-19 workplace safety standard linked below. That standard took effect on July 27, 2020, and will.
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;