The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced that it has cited 37 healthcare providers spanning the healthcare sector from the Department of Veterans Affairs to hospitals and medical facilities, medical transport companies, rehabilitation and care facilities, and assisted living facilities, for violations resulting in proposed penalties totaling $484,069.
OSHA inspections and citations all together involved healthcare providers in these 11 states: Ohio, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Indiana, Connecticut, Louisiana, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas, and Georgia. The following primary failures were specifically noted in the OSHA announcement:
- Implement a written respiratory protection program
- Provide a medical evaluation, respirator fit test, training on the proper use of a respirator, and personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Report an injury, illness, or fatality
- Record an injury or illness on OSHA recordkeeping forms; and
- Comply with General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
The following are the links to the regulations for these primary failures:
- (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.134)
- (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904/1904.39)
- (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904/1904.4)
- (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/oshact/section_5)
In addition to the 37 facilities subject to proposed fines, the report included 28 other establishments that received coronavirus-related citations from OSHA relating to one or more of the above violations. OSHA provides more information about individual citations at its Establishment Search website which it periodically updates: https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.html.
OSHA provides a section on their website titled COVID-19 – Control and Prevention/Healthcare Workers and Employers, which can be found at: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/healthcare-workers.html. It is intended to provide guidance as a supplement to the general interim guidance for workers and employers of workers who are at increased risk of occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2.
Compliance Perspective
The COVID-19 pandemic does not only affect a facility’s responsibility to follow compliance guidelines required by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that protect residents in long-term care facilities, but OSHA also requires compliance with its guidelines for protecting healthcare workers. Failure by a facility to follow OSHA guidelines may result in citations and penalties.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures to ensure that the OSHA General Duty Clause content and COVID-19 requirements regarding a respiratory protection program are in writing and implemented, in addition to guidelines for recording and reporting healthcare worker illness, injury, or fatality.
- Train staff regarding the proper use of a respirator and PPE.
- Periodically audit to ensure that employees are properly using respirators and correctly wearing and disposing of PPE. Also, ensure that required OSHA recordkeeping is performed for employees’ injuries, illnesses, or fatalities, and that those incidents are reported in a timely manner to OSHA.
