OSHA Cites Ohio Nursing Homes for Mask Violations
Senior Counsel Gina Fonte was quoted in an SHRM article recapping a recent citation of nursing homes in Ohio by the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OSHA) and describing best practices for employers seeking to follow health and safety requirements. Ms. Fonte explained that, because of the pandemic, healthcare employers need to be especially vigilant about following these requirements. She advised them to consult agency guidance, especially when it comes to protective equipment.
"Noncompliance with OSHA's personal protective equipment standards—and, in particular, respiratory personal protective equipment—is one of the top areas of OSHA investigation and potential OSHA citations related to COVID-19," she said. "Employers would be well-advised to undertake a job-hazard analysis related to their workplace to determine what respiratory personal protective equipment may be required for employees to safely perform their job duties. Workplaces that previously may not have required respiratory personal protective equipment [PPE] in the performance of a job task may now have newly created requirements for respiratory PPE as a result of COVID-19."