Oregon Governor Kate Brown is encouraging workers who believe their company isn’t following safety and health advisories related to COVID-19 (coronavirus) to file a report online with Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Oregon OSHA has the authority to investigate the complaint and require compliance with all workplace restrictions related to the…
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Vigilant has developed a new Social Distancing Policy to help employers comply with orders that have been issued by various state governors in the past week, requiring implementation of social distancing measures at work to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). In particular, Oregon employers are required to “establish, implement, and…
Read More…The Washington Department of Health (DOH) recently released guidance recommending that all employers in the state conduct daily health screening of employees and visitors for symptoms of COVID-19 (coronavirus). The screening protocol suggests asking all employees and visitors a series of five specific “yes” or “no” questions before entering the premises or starting their…
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Employer questions continue as federal and state restrictions increase In recent days, the number of confirmed COVID-19 (coronavirus) cases has dramatically increased, as have government-imposed restrictions to contain its spread. Not surprisingly, the rapid changes have caused great concern among employers that are trying to keep their workers employed while also…
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Know where to find COVID-19 guidance With new developments rapidly unfolding on the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, employers need to know where to find the latest guidance. In this Alert, we’re sharing links to the resources we’re finding to be most helpful. We’re also tracking pending federal legislation which is expected to temporarily expand the…
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The United States has been hard hit by coronavirus in the past week and Vigilant has received a variety of questions from members about this evolving situation. We previously reported on how to handle situations with employees who seek to return to the workplace after traveling to areas affected by…
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently launched a new National Emphasis Program to reduce worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica. Workers who inhale silica dust can develop serious lung diseases, which may be fatal or require lung transplants. The dust is generated when materials such as stone, rock,…
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Question: One of our employees went on vacation to Thailand and is scheduled to return to work in a couple of days. We don’t know whether her itinerary included any connections through China, but we’re concerned she could have been exposed to the coronavirus. Can we tell her not to come to work…
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Question: We have an employee who had a seizure at work, causing him to space out and forget things for a few minutes. He took a few days of leave to recover and seek medical treatment. When he came back, he told us he has epilepsy, but he brought in…
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a directive on December 10, 2019, updating its National Emphasis Program (NEP) focusing agency inspections on amputation hazards in manufacturing industries. These updates don’t create any new requirements for employers but focus agency enforcement on these hazards. Among other steps, the directive allows area…
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