Expressing concern over the recent surge in the coronavirus pandemic, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration within the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) announced today it is extending their emergency rules until October 14, 2021.
Saying they are taking the measures, originally issued on October 14th last year, to protect Michigan workers, businesses, customers and communities from the spread of COVID-19 because the broad community spread is continuing. However, even though the emergency rules now run to October 14th of this year, the department notes they can be modified or withdrawn at any time in response to changes in the spread of the virus.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says, “MIOSHA’s emergency rules help keep us all safe by ensuring that employers implement common sense safety standards to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace,” and adds, “When employers maintain a safe workplace, that gives workers and consumers the confidence to keep our economy moving.”
The state says that as cases across Michigan surge, the protection of workers is MIOSHA’s top priority.
Since March of 2020, employers have reported more than 40 worker deaths from COVID-19 in Michigan and MIOSHA has received over 12,000 complaints from employees alleging COVID-19 hazards in the workplace. In addition, some 605 referrals were received from local government, including local health departments, indicating that businesses were not taking all the necessary measures to protect their employees from infection.
COVID-19 Workplace Safety Director Sean Egan says, “As we work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the rules reinforce the importance of keeping workplaces safe for employees from COVID-19 transmission,” adding, “We want employers to create a safe work environment for their employees, which is why we will continue to work with employees and businesses to help them understand how to safely stay open.”
To provide additional educational support to employers, the new MIOSHA Ambassador Program has provided more than 3,700 businesses free education and one-on-one guidance to understand regulations on workplace safety. Ambassadors work directly with business owners and managers to implement safety directives to help ensure a safe workplace for employees and customers.
Meanwhile, LEO says it remains engaged in robust conversations with civic, business and labor leaders as well as public health experts to develop a set of phased-in return-to-office recommendations. Those recommendations will provide additional education and assistance to employers to help them implement the MIOSHA emergency rules and safely return to in-person work at an appropriate time.
According to data released from September 3rd through April 1st, as reported to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) by local public health departments, workplace outbreaks include:
- 670 in manufacturing and construction
- 374 in retail
- 332 in office settings
- 250 in restaurants and bars
- 52 in personal care services
MIOSHA contends that data demonstrates the need for the rules extension and employer strategies that ensure the protection of hardworking Michiganders.
Under the emergency rules, businesses that resume in-person work must, among other things, have a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan and provide thorough training to their employees that covers, at a minimum, workplace infection-control practices, the proper use of personal protection equipment (PPE), steps workers must take to notify the business or operation of any symptoms of COVID-19 or a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, and how to report unsafe working conditions.
MIOSHA Director Bart Pickelman says, “It’s important to note that the emergency rules implement workplace safeguards for all Michigan businesses,” and adds, “The rules also include requirements for specific industries, including manufacturing, construction, retail, health care, exercise facilities, restaurants and bars.”
Under the emergency rules, employers must continue to implement policies that require remote work for employees where remote work is feasible, to help ensure that COVID-19 transmission is mitigated to the maximum extent possible. While in-person work is permitted when remote work is not feasible, remote work is recommended as a strategy to minimize in-person contacts and is included in guidance from the CDC and Federal OSHA to protect employees in the workplace.
The rules establish workplace safety requirements and MIOSHA says employers should coordinate those requirements with the MDHHS Emergency Order restricting gathering sizes, requiring face coverings in public spaces and childcare facilities, placing capacity limitations on stores, bars and other public venues and providing safer workplaces.
Employers and employees with questions regarding workplace safety and health may contact MIOSHA using the new hotline at 855-SAFE-C19 (855-723-3219). To learn more about the efforts to support a safe reopening in Michigan, you can also visit http://Michigan.gov/COVIDWorkplaceSafety.
