Let’s be honest. It’s hard to keep up, and OSHA’s “Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace” did not make this easier. (If you are a healthcare employer, this article is not for you. You have specific OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards elsewhere.)

As of July 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that unvaccinated persons wear masks. For persons fully vaccinated, the recommendation was (1) to wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission, and (2) to consider wearing a mask in areas regardless of transmission status if they were immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe disease from COVID-19 or if they lived with someone who was not fully vaccinated, immunocompromised, or at increased risk for severe disease from COVID-19.

But just a few weeks later, on August 13, 2021, OSHA came out with its guidance. Like the CDC’s guidance, OSHA’s guidance is not an enforcement document. It provides guidance and to point out, where noted, specific “mandatory OSHA standards.” The main difference between the two is that the CDC is designed to address all Americans. OSHA is speaking directly to employers and workers; its focus is on the workplace and concerns at the workplace.

Interestingly, OSHA is clear in its purpose with this new guidance. It is promoting vaccination as the first line of defense against COVID-19. Secondarily, it is promoting a stronger emphasis on masks in the workplace, regardless of vaccination status.

The Guidance advises that the employer’s role in keeping employees safe involve each of the following areas (addressing these topics more fully in the guidance):

1. Facilitating employees getting vaccinated
2. Instructing workers who are infected, unvaccinated workers who have had a close contact, and all COVID-positive workers to stay home
3. Implementing physical distancing for unvaccinated and otherwise at-risk workers
4. Providing workers with masks or heightened PPE if necessary
5. Educating workers about COVID-19 policies
6. Suggesting or requiring unvaccinated persons to wear masks, in areas of substantial or high transmission
7. Maintaining ventilation systems
8. Performing cleaning and disinfection
9. Recording and reporting COVID-19 infections and deaths
10. Implementing protections against retaliation for voicing concerns about COVID-19 hazards

As businesses continue to grapple with the right balance of COVID-19 policies to protect the health and safety of their employees, protect against claims, and keep their businesses running – all when the virus and what science knows about it unfolds before us – it might be worth reading OSHA’s thoughts on how your business might best protect itself. In the appendix, it addresses higher risk workplaces. Remember, not all business have the same risks of exposure. Each business will need to put in protocols appropriate to the realities of the workplace.

The goal is a safe workplace that is open and productive.

By Kristen L. Brightmire, kbrigtmire@dsda.com