TSA implements additional COVID-19 safety measure
The Transportation Security Administration announced last week that its employees must wear facial protection while at airport screening checkpoints, a decision that will be implemented in the coming days. Wearing protective eyewear remains voluntary by TSA personnel who are serving in an active screening position. Corridor News
MNOSHA has opened 10 formal COVID-related investigations
Meatpacking plants have seen the largest workplace outbreaks of COVID-19 in Minnesota. MNOSHA has received 159 coronavirus-related complaints since March 1 and has opened 10 formal investigations, including three involving food-processing facilities. Minneapolis Star Tribune
Oregon OSHA delays enforcement of temporary rule on farm operations
In response to requests from employers for more time to comply, OR-OSHA says it will delay until June 1 enforcement of a temporary rule to increase protections against the spread of coronavirus in employer-provided housing and in labor-intensive farm operations. The rule, which will remain in effect until no later than October 24, encompasses multiple provisions including field sanitation and transportation. KTVZ (Bend, Ore.)
Complaints to OR-OSHA spiked after social distancing order
Complaints to OR-OSHA surged in just under a month during the coronavirus pandemic, the agency reports. The division typically receives just over 2,000 complaints per year, but received 3,582 complaints between March 2 and April 19, peaking in the final week of March when Gov. Kate Brown issued an order requiring employers to enforce social distancing or close. Malheur Enterprise
Fed-OSHA fines Maine company following deadly explosion
Fed-OSHA has cited and issued a $1,000 fine to the company that installed a safety post that pierced an underground propane line and caused an explosion that killed a Farmington, Maine fire captain last September. The state fire marshal has confirmed the explosion occurred after the company drilled several 10-foot posts into the ground about 5 feet from the building to protect a nearby air conditioning unit. Bangor Daily News
Employees of Chicago hospital voice concerns over PPE
Employees at Northwestern Memorial Hospital say they were not given adequate personal protective equipment, like N95 masks, or paid sick leave or workers’ compensation after contacting the novel coronavirus while at work. Newsweek [with video]
Planning for the ‘new normal’ of the bank branch
With changes to stay-at-home orders happening or looming, banks should start thinking about how to prepare for reopening branches or expanding operations and to create a safe environment once branch employees and customers return. Attorney Mary Margaret Spell of Jones Walker LLP discusses how these essential businesses have adjusted, and what needs to take place for branches to be ready again for inside traffic. National Law Review