DGRead 21.01.01
International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) Asks Jonathan Mook to Update Them on the ADA; Rocket Docket Update; Michele Kraftschik, Our Unsung Hero; DG/30 Milestone
International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) Asks Jonathan Mook to Update Them on the ADA; Rocket Docket Update; Michele Kraftschik, Our Unsung Hero; DG/30 Milestone
When a Title Causes Confusion; Rocket Docket Update; ADA: Recent Litigation Developments; DG/30 Milestones
Big Penalties for Age Discrimination!’ ERA! ERA! ERA!: DG/30 Milestone
Labor and Employment Law Update; Best Law Firms; Marijuana Reform in Virginia? Yes!; DG/30 Milestone
Keep a Paper Trail!; Rocket Docket Update; Employee or Contractor? Don’t Misclassify!; DG/30 Milestone
APPA Legal & Regulatory Virtual Conference; Is Virginia Making it Easy for Employees to Take Off with Corporate Secrets and Clients?; Virginia Hikes Minimum Wage; DG/30 Milestone
Virginia Protects Whistleblowers; Let Us Be Proud…for Just a Minute; In Virginia, You Can Do Your Hair Do; Two Years of DGRead!; DG/30 Milestone
Michael Lieberman’s Thoughts and Suggestions on Working in the Rocket Docket; Rocket Docket Update; Virginia is First in the South; DG/30 Milestone
What HR Can Do if an Employee Is Afraid to Return to Work Post COVID-19; Rocket Docket Update; Virginia Enacts Standards to Protect Workers from COVID-19 Exposure; DG/30 Milestone
By: Jayna Genti
Virginia is now the first state in the nation to enact mandatory workplace safety rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) for Infectious Disease Prevention took effect July 27, 2020. The new standard covers most private employers in Virginia, as well as all state and local employees, and will be enforced by Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (“VOSH”). Employers that fail to comply with the new rules face fines of up to $13,494 for a “serious” violation and up to $134,937 for a “repeat” or “willful” violation.
Scope and Approach of the New Rules
The new temporary standards mandate that workers be provided with personal protective equipment and sets parameters for businesses to sanitize their worksites, enforce social distancing protocols, and implement infectious disease preparedness and response plans.
“Workers should not have to sacrifice their health and safety to earn a living, especially during an ongoing global pandemic,” Gov. Ralph Northam said. “In the face of federal inaction, Virginia has stepped up to protect workers from COVID-19, creating the nation’s first enforceable workplace safety requirements. Keeping Virginians safe at work is not only a critical part of stopping the spread of this virus, it’s key to our economic recovery and it’s the right thing to do.”
The ETS takes a layered approach to employee protection depending on each job’s exposure risk level and includes:
Office Environments
Most office work environments will fall under the category of “lower” exposure risk since employees can avoid contact within six feet of persons known or suspected of having COVID-19. In such an environment, employees should be able to achieve minimal contact by, for example, telecommuting, staggered work shifts, remote service delivery, floor-to-ceiling physical barriers (such as clear plastic walls at convenience stores behind which only one employee is working at any one time), or other forms of mandatory physical distancing of employees.
Face coverings are required when it is necessary for an employee to have brief contact with others inside the six feet distance, but face coverings are not a substitute for the other means of achieving minimal occupational contact.
Mandatory Requirements for All Virginia Employers
All employers now are required to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
These include:
Higher Risk Jobs
Additional requirements apply to jobs classified as medium exposure risks and high or very high exposure risks. The requirements include prescreening of employees and contractors for COVID-19 symptoms before entering the worksite, telework, staggered shifts, physical barriers, and air handling system requirements where appropriate. In addition, these employers must provide training on the hazards and characteristics of the COVID-19 disease to all employees working at the place of employment regardless of employee risk classification.
With job tasks classified as high or very high (or as medium with 11 or more employees), employers further must develop and implement a written infectious disease preparedness and response plan.
Effective Dates and Expiration
The ETS took effect on July 27, 2020. Employers, however, have an additional 30 or 60-day window to implement some of the training and planning requirements. There is a 30-day window to implemented most of the employee training requirements, and a 60-day window for certain workplaces to establish written infectious disease preparedness and response plans and undertake training related to such plans.
The ETS will remain in place for six months or until the Governor’s COVID-19 State of Emergency expires or the temporary standards are replaced by the enactment of permanent standards, whichever occurs first.
What Else Employers Should Know
Finally, the ETS gives legal protections to workers who raise reasonable concerns about infection control to their employer, the employer’s agent, other employees, a government agency, or to the public such as through print, online, social or any other media. The ETS also prohibits employers from discharging or discriminating against a worker because the employee exercised rights under the standard or “blew the whistle” on violations of the standard.
Employers must allow employees to wear their own personal protective equipment, including a respirator, face shield, gloves, or face covering if the equipment is not already provided by the employer and it does not create a greater hazard to the employee or create a serious hazard for other employees. Additionally, nothing in the standard limits an employee from refusing to perform work or to enter a location that the employee feels is unsafe.
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Virginia employers who are unsure about compliance with these new rules should consult with experienced Virginia employment counsel to learn how to best conform their business practices to the new standard. Should you have any questions about these new requirements for Virginia employers, DiMuroGinsberg’s employment law attorneys are here to help.
DiMuroGinsberg focuses primarily
on general and complex litigation in the areas of corporate and commercial law, business torts, RICO, criminal law, employment & labor law, and professional liability & ethics.
1001 N. Fairfax St., Suite 510
Alexandria, VA 22314
Telephone: 703-684-4333
Fax: 703-548-3181
Media Contact:
Michele Kraftschik