This article is the first in a three-part series discussing the New Emergency Temporary Standards for Employers in Virginia.
Click here to read Part 2 and Part 3.
Governor Northam’s executive order (EO 63), tasked the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board (the Board) – which “promulgates and adopts job safety and health standards, [that] employers and employees are required to comply with…”– to create an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The draft is titled 16 VAC 25-220; Emergency Temporary Standard, Infectious Disease Prevention: SARS-CoV-2 Virus that Causes COVID-19.
As of July 15, 2020, there were two virtual town hall meetings (one currently under way) where the Board discussed and amended the draft standard. Staff of the Department of Labor anticipates an effective date for some time in the week July 27, 2020. However, an exact date “is unknown at this time.” The standard is meant to supplement existing law, and where it conflicts the stricter law shall apply. Under the current draft, if an employer complies with CDC “requirements” the employer will be deemed in compliance with the standard. However, this is confusing as the CDC issues “recommendations” and “guidelines” not “requirements.”
The standard places employers into categories of risk: “very high,” “high,” “medium,” and “lower.” Although a business may have a general level of risk, it does not exclude the business from a different risk category; multiple categories of risk may exist for a single business or location. One size does not fit all. The purpose of the standard is to establish requirements for employers to control, prevent, and mitigate the spread of the virus among employees and other persons (e.g. customers).
Summarizing the Categories of Risk [1]:
Each Risk Category includes different levels of controls for compliance with the standard. For a full reading of the current draft standard: https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/GetFile.cfm?File=meeting\92\31089\Agenda_DOLI_31089_v3.pdf
[1] 16 VAC 25-220.