Starting November 1, 2023, operators of temporary worker housing (TWH) must comply with new rules issued by Washington’s Departments of Labor & Industries (L&I) and Health (DOH) that primarily address communicable diseases such as COVID-19. As we previously reported, L&I and DOH indicated in January that they planned to create permanent rules when their last set of temporary ones expired. Here are the important aspects of the new requirements:
Definitions for key terms added: New and very broad definitions are added for communicable disease, community-based outreach worker, community health worker, local health jurisdiction, mechanical ventilation system, outbreak, and suspected case. As an example of the breadth of these definitions, community-based outreach workers include representatives from legal aid, a union, or any other community advocacy organization.
Languages to use in communications: The rules change the description of languages that must be used in communicating information to occupants from “native language” to the language “commonly understood by the occupants.” This could help provide some flexibility for employers if employees have shared common languages that are different from their native ones.
Changes to TWH plans must be submitted within 10 days: Operators must submit any changes to the TWH management plan to DOH and comply with posting requirements within 10 days of the effective date of the change.
Documentation about tent stability only required if requested: Previously, operators using tents had to provide DOH evidence of their structural stability. That’s now only required when requested by DOH.
Instruction to close openings of tents when there’s a health risk: Operators using tents must now instruct occupants to close outside openings of tents any time external conditions pose a health and safety risk.
Disease prevention and control rewritten: There are numerous new requirements around disease prevention and control, including: (1) Immediately reporting to local health authorities the name and address of any occupant known or suspected of having any communicable disease or a foodborne or waterborne illness, or if two or more occupants have fever, diarrhea, sore throat, vomiting, or jaundice, or two or more occupants are coughing up blood or have a cough lasting three weeks or more; (2) Implement disease control measures as directed by local health authorities; (3) Post (in a language commonly understood by the occupants) information on health and safety, who to report illnesses to, and how to secure medical treatment; (4) Allow access by community health and outreach services, provided they contact the operator to set up a day and time, check in with designated staff, and wear appropriate personal protective equipment; (5) A variety of requirements around screening, quarantining, and isolating occupants when needed; and (6) Training.
Tips: Many of these new rules mirror the emergency rules operators had to comply with during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest permanent set of changes is in the disease prevention and control section. It would be wise for operators to review these requirements in detail. If you have questions about compliance, please contact your Vigilant safety professional.
