Labor Department issues workplace guidance for coronavirus

Fed-OSHA has published a 35-page guidance memo to help companies prepare for a potential case of the coronavirus in the workplace. Some of the steps the document suggests employers take in order to reduce the risk of exposure include establishing flexible work sites and work hours, permitting employees to stay home to care for sick family members and foregoing requirements for sick employees to provide a healthcare provider’s note to validate their illness. Boston Herald

 

CDC: Americans over 60 should ‘stock up’ on supplies, avoid crowds

Most Americans are likely at risk of catching the novel strain of the coronavirus, according to Nancy Messonnier, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Younger people with underlying health problems are also at risk, but older people with health problems are the most vulnerable; older Americans, especially those with underlying health conditions, should stockpile supplies and avoid unnecessary travel, according to the director. The Hill

 

Coronavirus: ‘Don’t buy into the fear and don’t panic’

“We do not panic over the flu. Companies do not impose travel bans. Events are not cancelled.” Coronavirus is likely not as deadly as feared, argues Matt Michel in Contracting Business.

 

Should employers allow earbuds or headphones in the workplace?

Employees may believe earbuds and headphones are a form of proper hearing protection. Fed-OSHA seems to have taken the position of leaving it up to employers to determine the appropriateness of earbuds or headphones in the workplace. Marina Dock Age

 

Missouri capitol renovator settles with Fed-OSHA

The contractor overseeing exterior stone work of the Missouri State Capitol has settled with Fed-OSHA and paid reduced penalties for cited violations relating to noise level control and respiratory protection from stone dust at the site. The company was not ultimately penalized for what had initially been a $6,630 fine related to the monitoring of air quality for workers’ exposure to crystalline silica. News Tribune

 

Warehouse blast kills Utah employee

One man is dead following a large explosion in a warehouse in Brigham City, Utah on Tuesday. The employee, reportedly in his mid-30s, was the only person in the building at the time. The explosion was powerful enough to blow metal siding off the side of the structure and blow out the windows of another business across the parking lot, according to a police official. Deseret News