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All bets are off as regulatory agencies are tugged in every direction in pandemic world. Normally, an election year probably would not have seen particularly aggressive enforcement or rulemaking. For a while, COVID-19 health precautions and furloughed work sites meant reduced inspection activity. But, enforcement may be picking up, and a battle over new regulations is brewing. Here’s your full update.
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Continue Reading OSHA and MSHA update: More enforcement? New regs? Deregulation? It’s all on the table.

As companies plan to reopen, we’re getting lots of questions about how to prepare for workers wearing cloth face masks, as advised by the CDC and now required by some jurisdictions. Should your employees wear masks? Must they? What do you need to know to do this right? Here is our summary of key questions and answers.
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Continue Reading Returning to work with masks? Answers to top employer questions.

Many companies are considering deploying health survey and/or contact-tracing apps as part of protecting the workforce as they bring employees back to work. The apps aim to identify if an employee might be infected or has been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. But, before you get started, there are critical privacy issues to consider.
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Continue Reading Using health screening or contact-tracing apps for return to work? Watch the privacy implications.

The CDC has published new guidelines enabling workers employed in certain “Critical Infrastructure” jobs to return to work more quickly after they were exposed to people with known or suspected cases of COVID-19. Who’s covered and what are the key action items? Read on for our analysis.
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Continue Reading CDC revises its ‘Return to Work’ guidelines for essential workers in critical infrastructure

Now for a story that has nothing to do with viruses… In last month’s Rock Products magazine, our colleague Charles Fleischmann analyzed MSHA’s revisions to its inspection procedures. To find out what’s new and different in MSHA inspection policies, read on.
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Continue Reading What’s inside MSHA’s (relatively) new unified inspection handbook?

No company and no industry is immune from COVID-19. The virus is everywhere. If you haven’t been shut down by government order, your challenge is to adopt a plan to keep the virus from spreading at your workplace and to respond swiftly if it does. Here are questions to ask as you build a response plan.
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Continue Reading Still need a plan? Here’s how to create your company’s COVID-19 response plan.

As companies adopt response plans to protect against coronavirus, some employees may push back, wondering if skipping that next in-person meeting could really make a difference. Here are a couple stories showing that one meeting can matter (and also that your company can beat the virus with an aggressive, thoughtful response).

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Continue Reading Coronavirus at work: Yes, one business meeting can make a difference.