The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed a temporary rule to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in workplaces around the state and across industries. The agency is accepting public comments on the plan until September 7.
The mainstays of the proposal are familiar by now. Employers must ensure 6 feet of distance between workers. If that’s not practical, employees must wear face coverings. The 6-foot distancing requirement can also be satisfied by an impermeable barrier that creates a “droplet buffer” of 6 feet between workers.
That’s where the rule becomes part regulation, part math problem. It asks employers to essentially measure the shortest distance a droplet could travel from the mouth of one worker, around a barrier, to the mouth of another. That transit distance must be at least 6 feet for workers to go unmasked.
“The simplest description we’ve been able to come up with,” said Oregon OSHA administrator Michael Wood, “is if both individuals … have the end of a 6-foot string in their mouth — if they could do that — then you’re too close.”
The proposed rule is generally consistent with guidance already issued by the Oregon Health Authority and Gov. Kate Brown. Wood pointed to advantages, however, in consolidating coronavirus guidelines in a workplace health and safety context. The proposed rule would provide a baseline across all industries, from office work to food processing.
“There are some gaps where there isn’t industry-specific guidance,” Wood said of the preexisting rules. “And the general workplace guidance — it isn’t always clear to folks that it does apply in, say, a manufacturing environment.”
By establishing its own rule, Oregon OSHA seeks to anchor coronavirus guidelines in the Oregon Safe Employment Act, facilitating their enforcement. Wood said that legal framework would clarify for workers what their rights and protections are. From Oregon OSHA’s perspective, it’s almost a return to normal — a new normal in which pandemic safety is regulated as part of workplace safety.
The proposed rule goes beyond masks and barriers. It details how far apart employees must sit in work vehicles. It covers interactions with customers and contractors. It includes additional requirements for workers at “heightened” risk, such as tattoo artists and barbers, as well as for those considered at “exceptional” risk, such as healthcare personnel involved in direct patient care. The rule also details the use of infection control plans in medical settings.
Wood said the proposed rule is not a radical shift from the state’s current expectations of employers, though businesses such as call centers will have to adapt if they haven’t already.
“A call center certainly has issues here,” he said. “If they can’t maintain a firm 6-foot distance, they’ll have to think about how they’re going to go about their daily business with facial coverings on.”
For some businesses, the biggest change may come in the part of the rule describing what to do if employees get COVID-19 symptoms or have to quarantine. It requires businesses not covered by the sick leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to provide up to two weeks of paid leave to affected workers, in addition to regular benefits.
“For large businesses that are exempt,” Wood said, “this does create an obligation to provide paid reassignment leave. And so that’s probably the most significant change from their perspective.”
Written comments on the proposed temporary rule can be submitted to Oregon OSHA until Sept. 7 at tech.web@oregon.gov.