4. COVID developments led OSHA to review mask guidance
Posted On: Dec. 29, 2021 7:45 AM CST
Ever-changing and sometimes conflicting federal, state and local guidance on masks in the workplace has been a challenging issue for employers to manage as they continue to work their way through the pandemic.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration in May had to revisit its own guidance on mask wearing in the workplace when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidelines that stated fully vaccinated individuals did not need to wear a face mask in most settings.
The development, which led OSHA to issue a statement online that it intended to update its guidance for mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace was the fourth most read workers compensation story on the Business Insurance website in 2021.
Employers waited for weeks for OSHA to provide better guidance on whether workers should wear masks, causing confusion and frustration for many businesses.
Finally, in July, OSHA issued new guidance for workplaces during the pandemic, aligning the agency with the CDC’s stance that vaccinated individuals need to wear face masks in areas of high transmission.
This came after the CDC updated its recommendations for fully vaccinated people to reduce their risk of becoming infected with the Delta variant and potentially spreading it to others.
Meanwhile, businesses that failed to implement measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus have been fined. Earlier in April, OSHA had assessed a tax business in Massachusetts more than $136,000 in penalties for prohibiting employees and customers from wearing masks, despite a statewide mask mandate.