OSHA Guidance: Wearing Face Coverings in Hot and Humid Environments

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued guidance on safety protocols employees can use when wearing cloth face coverings in hot, humid indoor and outdoor work conditions. Wearing face coverings has become necessary in multiple industries because of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Heat-Related Illness and Respiratory Hazard

According to OSHA, hot and humid working conditions can pose a respiratory hazard to workers and account for 50 to 70% of all outdoor fatalities in the workplace. Hazardous heat exposure can occur indoors or outdoors, and can occur during any season if the conditions are right.

For these reasons, and because of the current pandemic, OSHA has published guidance for employers on how they can protect workers who wear cloth face coverings in hot and humid work conditions. 

The Guidance

OSHA’s guidance provides best practices to reduce the risk of heat-related illness or injuries while wearing cloth face coverings, including:

þ  Allowing employees to use personal cooling systems;

þ  Considering alternatives to wearing face coverings;

þ  Monitoring weather conditions and scheduling strenuous activities during cooler parts of the day; and

þ  Continuing to use administrative and engineering safety controls in addition to cloth face coverings.

Employers should train their employees on how to prevent heat-related illnesses and stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers should also consider making the indoor and outdoor best practices publications available to their employees. 

President Trump Issues Health Care Plan in an Executive Order

On Sept. 24, 2020, President Donald Trump introduced his plan for affordable, high-quality health care, called the America First Health Care Plan. This plan, issued in an executive order, is primarily aimed at protecting people with preexisting conditions and combating surprise medical billing.

An executive order is a broad policy directive used to establish how laws will be enforced by the administration. The order does not make any changes to existing laws or regulations, but directs federal agencies to issue new guidance to implement the order’s policies. As a result, the executive order’s specific impact will remain largely unclear until agencies issue further guidance or Congress takes action in response to the order.

The America First Health Care Plan

The executive order directs the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor and the Treasury to maintain and build upon existing actions to:

·         Expand options for affordable health care;

·         Expand access to affordable medicines, including accelerating the approvals of new generic and biosimilar drugs and facilitating the safe importation of affordable prescription drugs from abroad;

·         Ensure consumers have access to meaningful price and quality information before the delivery of care; and

·         Reduce waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system.

The executive order specifically directs HHS to work with Congress to reach a legislative solution to end surprise medical billing by Dec. 31, 2020. If a legislative solution is not reached by that date, the executive order directs HHS to take administrative action to prevent out-of-pocket expenses that cannot be reasonably foreseen.

Trump Signs Executive Order to Lower Medicare Drug Prices

On Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at lowering drug costs for Medicare recipients.

10 Tips to Maximize Productivity While Working Remotely

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the stigma associated with working remotely has disappeared. And, as the pandemic continues, working from home is likely to stick around.

CDC Releases Guidance on Handling COVID-19 Policy Disputes with Customers

The past few months have seen multiple instances of aggression and violence against workers who attempted to enforce their establishment’s COVID-19 prevention policies and practices with customers. As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued new guidance instructing employees not to force any customer who appears upset or potentially violent to comply with their workplace’s COVID-19 prevention requirements. 

Court Blocks Rule on LGBTQ+ Discrimination in Health Care

On Aug. 17, 2020, a federal district court granted an injunction blocking a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation that would have allowed health care and insurance discrimination based on sex stereotyping, gender identity and pregnancy-related conditions. 

Live Well, Work Well - September 2020 Newsletter

Choosing an Effective Hand Sanitizer

Hand hygiene is an important response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends washing hands with soap and water. If those aren’t available, using a hand sanitizer can help you avoid getting sick and spreading germs.