Michigan COVID Employer Safety Rules Rolled Out - American Society of Employers - Michael Burns

Michigan COVID Employer Safety Rules Rolled Out

COVID regulationsOctober 5th the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issued an emergency order addressing public gatherings and masking rules. On October 24th, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Agency (MIOSHA) issued emergency rules addressing workplace safety. Both were issued to replace Governor Whitmer’s Executive Orders going back to March 2020.

The issuance of the Governor’s Executive Orders was ruled unconstitutional by the Michigan Supreme Court the Friday before (October 2, 2020). The DHHS order and MIOSHA rules seek to replace the COVID safety rules the state was under per the Governor’s Executive Orders.

Further, last week the legislature passed new legislation protecting employers from liability if they follow the safety rules issued. Important to employers, the MIOSHA rules state that if an employee can work from home, they must work from home if feasible. The regulation leaves the determination of whether it is feasible to do the work from home or not up to the employer to determine and enforce.

Employers should follow the MIOSHA rules that outline safety protocols for the workplace that require employers to:

  • Develop and implement a written COVID-19 preparedness plan. ASE provides an up-to- date preparedness plan template on the member dashboard. (Rule 4)
  • Shall have a policy prohibiting in-person work for employees to the extent that their work activities can feasibly be completed remotely. Feasibility is left to the judgement of the employer. (Rule 5)
  • The employer shall conduct daily screenings for all employees or contractors entering the workplace. This will include a questionnaire, and if possible, temperature screening
  • The employer will direct any employee that is showing signs or symptoms of COVID-19 to report that to the employer before or during the work shift.
  •  The employer shall physically isolate any employees known to have COVID-19 from the workforce using at least the following measures:

o   Not allowing the employee to report for work

o   Sending the employee out of the workplace

o   Assigning known or suspected cases to work alone at a remote location (home), as their health allows 

  • When an employer learns of an employee, visitor, or customer who has COVID -19, the employer shall:

o   Immediately notify the local health department, and

o   Within 24 hours of learning of the known case notify co-workers, contractors, or suppliers who may have come into contact with the person with a known case of COVID-19.

  • The employer shall allow employees with a known or suspected case of COVID-19 to return to the workplace only after they are no longer infectious according to the latest guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
  • The employer shall designate one or more worksite safety coordinators to implement, monitor, and report on the COVID-19 control strategies developed under their rules. This coordinator must be on-site at all times when employees are present. An on-site employee may be designated to perform the COVID-19 safety coordinator role.
  • Posters must be placed that are in the languages common in the employee population. The poster should encourage staying away from the workplace when sick, practicing cough or sneeze etiquette, and explain proper hand hygiene practices.
  • Maintain everyone at six-foot distances to the maximum extent possible. Employers should reduce congestion to the maximum extent possible using ground markings, signs, and physical barriers as appropriate to the worksite.
  • The employer shall provide non-medical grade face coverings at no cost to the employee.
  • The employer shall require face coverings to be worn when employees cannot maintain six feet distancing from other individuals in the workplace.
  • The employer shall require face coverings in shared places, including during in-person meetings and in restrooms and hallways. (Rule 7)
  • The employer shall provide employees with the types of personal protection equipment (PPE), including respirators if necessary, for protection from SARS-CoV-2 appropriate to exposure risk associated with the job. The employer must follow current CDC and MIOSHA guidance for PPE.
  • The employer shall ensure PPE is properly fitted and worn; used consistently; regularly inspected; maintained and replaced as necessary;  and properly removed, cleaned, and stored or disposed of to avoid contamination of self, others, or the work environment. (Rule 8)
  • Rule 9 outlines industry specific requirements – Construction, Manufacturing, Retail, Libraries and Museums, Restaurants and Bars, Health Care, In-home Services, Personal Care services, Public Accommodations, Sports and Exercise Facilities, Meat and Poultry Processing, and Casinos.
  • The employer shall provide training to employees on SARS-CoV-2 also known as COVID-19.  The employer shall provide any communication and training on COVID-19 infection control practices in the primary languages common in the employee population.

The training shall cover:

o   Workplace infection control practices

o   The proper use of PPE

o   Steps the employee must take to notify the business or operations of any symptoms of COVID-19 or a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19

o   How to report unsafe working conditions (Rule 10)

  • Employers must maintain records of the following requirements:

o   Training – The employer shall maintain records of all COVID-19 employee training.

o   Screening Protocols – The employer shall maintain a record of screening for each employee or visitor entering the workplace.

o   Records of required notification – The employer shall maintain a record of each notification required by Rule 6 if these rules.

o   Employer must maintain records for 1 year.

The recent DHHS Order outlines public health requirements so it applies to spaces in addition to workplaces. This order limits attendance at gatherings both indoor and outdoor per the following:

  • Indoor gatherings of up to 10 persons occurring at a residence are permitted (face coverings are strongly recommended for such gatherings)
  • Indoor gatherings of up to 10 persons occurring at a non-residential venue are permitted provided each person at the gathering wears a face covering
  •  Indoor gatherings of more than 10 and up to 500 people occurring at a nonresidential venue are permitted only to the extent that the organizers and venue:

o   In venues with fixed seating, limit attendance to 20% of seating capacity of the venue, provided however that gatherings at up to 25% of seating capacity are permitted in Region 6, as that region was defined in Executive Order 2020-176

o   In venues without fixed seating, limit attendance to 20 persons per 1,000 square feet in each occupied room, provided however that gatherings of up to 25 persons per 1,000 square feet in each occupied room are permitted in Region 6, as that region was defined in Executive Order 2020-176

o   Require that each person gathered wears a face covering

  • Outdoor gatherings of up to 100 persons occurring at a residence are permitted (face coverings are recommended for such gatherings)
  • Outdoor gatherings of up to 100 persons occurring at a non-residential venue are permitted provided that each person at the gathering wears a face covering
  • Outdoor gatherings of more than 100 and up to 1,000 persons occurring at a nonresidential venue with fixed seating are permitted only to the extent that the organizers and venue:

o   In venues with fixed seating, limit attendance to 30% of seating capacity

o   In venues without fixed seating, limit attendance to 30 persons per 1,000 square feet, including within any distinct area within the event space

o   Require that each person gathered wear a face covering

  • Organizers and venues hosting gatherings must ensure that persons not part of the same household maintain six feet of distance from one another, including by designing the gathering to encourage and maintain social distancing.
  • Face covering requirement at gatherings:

o   Except for schools in Region 6, as that term was defined in Executive Order 2020-176, businesses, government offices, schools, and other operations must not allow indoor gatherings of any kind unless they require individuals to wear a face covering consistent with section 3 of this order. For schools in Region 6, the wearing of face coverings is recommended.

o   A business, school, government office, or other operation may not assume that someone who enters the business without a face covering falls in one of the exceptions specified in section 3 of this order, including the exception for individuals who cannot medically tolerate a face covering. A business, school, government office, or other operation may, however, accept an individual’s verbal representation that they are not wearing a face covering because they fall within a specified exception.

The DHHS order states certain exceptions to the face covering requirements. It does not apply to individuals:

  • Are younger than five years old (and, per guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), children under the age of two should not wear a mask)
  • Cannot medically tolerate a face covering
  • Are eating or drinking while seated at a food service establishment
  • Are exercising outdoors and able to consistently maintain six feet of social distance
  • Are swimming
  • Are receiving a service for which temporary removal of the face covering is necessary
  • Are entering a business or are receiving a service and are asked to temporarily remove a face covering for identification purposes
  • Are communicating with someone who is deaf, deafblind, or hard of hearing and where the ability to see the mouth is essential to communication
  •   Are actively engaged in a public safety role, including but not limited to law enforcement, firefighters, or emergency medical personnel, and where wearing a mask would seriously interfere in the performance of their public safety responsibilities
  • Are at a polling place for purposes of voting in an election
  • Are officiating or engaging in a religious service
  • Are giving a speech for broadcast or to an audience, provided that the audience is at least six feet away from the speaker


Reference Links:

MIOSHA Rules - Original Document

MIOSHA Rules - Simplified

DHHS Order

 

 

Sources: Michigan Manufacturers Associations Quick Hits MIOSHA Issues New Workplace Safety Rules 10/19/2020; MIOSHA Emergency Rules Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19); DHHS Emergency Order Under MCL 333.2253

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