OSHA issues first COVID-19 guidance under Biden administration

On January 29, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued new Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace (https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/safework) in response to President Joe Biden's recently issued Executive Order Protecting Worker Health and Safety (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/26/2021-01863/protecti...). The new guidance—which is neither a standard nor a regulation and therefore doesn't create legal obligations—is a likely template for the more formal OSHA emergency temporary standard expected to be issued in March.

Recommended preventive measures

The new guidance includes provisions intended to help employers and workers—outside of health care—identify the risks of being exposed to and contracting COVID-19 at work and determine appropriate control measures. The guidance also recommends that employers implement a workplace COVID-19 prevention program.

According to the guidance, employers should take the following actions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace: