MIOSHA Issues COVID-19 Emergency Rules to Clarify Requirements for Employers
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) within the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) is one of the first state OSHA programs to promulgate rules which clarify the safety requirements employers must follow to protect their employees from COVID-19. Governor Gretchen Whitmer On Wednesday (10/14) signed her concurrence of the need for a comprehensive set of Emergency Rules that will help protect Michigan workers, businesses, customers and communities from the spread of COVID-19.
Under the Emergency Rules, businesses that resume in-person work must, among other things, have a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan and provide thorough training to their employees that covers, at a minimum, workplace infection-control practices, the proper use of personal protection equipment (PPE), steps workers must take to notify the business or operation of any symptoms of COVID-19 or a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, and how to report unsafe working conditions.
MIOSHA’s Emergency Rules implement workplace safeguards for all Michigan businesses and specific requirements for industries, including manufacturing, construction, retail, health care, exercise facilities, restaurants and bars.
The rules establish workplace safety requirements and employers should coordinate these requirements with the Emergency Order issued by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services restricting gathering sizes, requiring face coverings in public spaces and childcare facilities, placing capacity limitations on stores, bars and other public venues and providing safer workplaces.
Download the COVID-19 MIOSHA Emergency Rules Infographic.