Safety, Health & Environmental Resources

Protecting High-Risk Individuals

As on May 1, 2020, Governor Herbert has moved the state into the orange "moderate risk" phase. While this new phase loosens some restrictions on businesses and social gatherings, we urge all companies to continue protecting high-risk individuals. Please click HERE to view the state's guidance on protecting high-risk individuals.

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National AGC COVID-19 Safety Stand Down

AGC of America members nationwide will hold a National AGC COVID-19 Safety Stand Down to increase safety education for employees, companies, and communities. If your company would like to participate, please click HERE to download the stand down resources kit, which includes several toolbox talks, communications flyers, and other tools to help keep you, your employees, and your families safe. 

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AGC of America Sample Plan for COVID-19: Exposure Prevention, Preparedness, and Response 

Download as [PDF] | [Word]

Includes the following information and plan details:

• Responsibilities of Employers
• Responsibilities of Employees
• Jobsite Protective Measures & Disinfecting
• Jobsite Exposure Situations
• OSHA Recordkeeping
• COVID-19 Checklist for Employers & Employees

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COVID-19 UDOT Construction Directive Project Specific Health Plan
UDOT has provided a template document to ensure that each project team has a plan to address the well-being of those that are building UDOT projects. The document may be added to, edited, or recreated so that each team has a plan specific to the project. The plan should be used for all people who come onto the project site.

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Rapid Testing Mobile Response Units
In partnership with Sen. Karen Mayne and other industry associations and partners, AGC of Utah pushes for increased funding for rapid response testing units on jobsites. This will allow jobsites to quickly care for any sick employees and test for COVID-19 while onsite. 

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Harvard Business Review: Your Employee Tested Positive for Covid-19. What Do You Do?

HR Resource & Company Owner Response Sample.

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OSHA Further Clarifies Employer Requirement to Record and Report COVID-19 Cases

The announcement provides certainty to the construction industry and helps contractors focus their response efforts on implementing good hygiene practices in their workplaces and otherwise mitigating COVID-19’s effects.
 
Specifically, the agency states that in areas where there is ongoing community transmission, employers other than those in the healthcare industry, emergency response organizations (e.g., emergency medical, firefighting and law enforcement services), and correctional institutions may have difficulty making determinations about whether workers who contracted COVID-19 did so due to exposures at work. Accordingly, until further notice, OSHA will not enforce its recordkeeping requirements to require these employers to make work-relatedness determinations for COVID-19 cases, except where: (1) There is objective evidence that a COVID-19 case may be work-related; and (2) The evidence was reasonably available to the employer. Employers of workers in the healthcare industry, emergency response organizations and correctional institutions must continue to make work-relatedness determinations.

See the full enforcement memo from OSHA, click here. 

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OSHA Guidance On Preparing Workplaces For COVID-19

OSHA has created recommendations for all workplaces to follow, listing the following steps employers can take to reduce workers' risk of exposure to COVID-19:

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OSHA Recordkeeping Requirements

OSHA recordkeeping requirements at 29 CFR Part 1904 mandate covered employers record certain work-related injuries and illnesses on their OSHA 300 log.

COVID-19 can be a recordable illness if a worker is infected as a result of performing their work-related duties. However, employers are only responsible for recording cases of COVID-19 if all of the following are met:

• The case is a confirmed case of COVID-19 (see CDC information on persons under investigation and presumptive positive and laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19);
• The case is work-related, as defined by 29 CFR 1904.5; and
• The case involves one or more of the general recording criteria set forth in 29 CFR 1904.7 (e.g. medical treatment beyond first-aid, days away from work).

Visit OSHA’s Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements page for more information.

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Utah OSHA & COVID-19 Webinar

Shaheen Safiullah with UOSH spoke with AGC of Utah members & industry partners on April 7th, 2020 to discuss how COVID-19 will impat OSHA rules and regulations. 

Click HERE to view the full webinar. Click HERE to download Shaheen's PowerPoint Presentation.

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OSHA Respirator Guidance for COVID-19

Notice from UOSH Division Director Cameron Ruppe:

UOSH is not enforcing any new rules when it comes to COVID-19. Many of the guidance documents from the CDC and others contain recommendations, but none of those recommendations are enforceable by UOSH.  

The companies/sites that require all employees to wear respirators for the sole purpose of protecting against COVID-19 are, in my view, attempting to adhere to recommendations outside of UOSH jurisdiction. Therefore, UOSH will not be pursuing citations in those situations. However, when employees are wearing respirators for recognized hazards such as silica, respirators should be used only when they have followed the proper procedures of fit-testing, medical evaluations, etc.  

• UOSH is not requiring that employers have their employees wear cloth masks and is not requiring the use of N95 respirators or other respirators as PPE to protect against COVID-19.  
• CSHOs will not address the voluntary use of cloth masks, which are not respirators, in the workplace unless employees are wearing such masks when they should be using a respirator to protect from inhalation of substances (for example, silica) in the workplace. 
• UOSH will address respirator use/non-use, fit tests, and medical evaluations on a case-by-case basis; note that medical questionnaires for medical evaluations can be submitted to a physician or other licensed health care professional in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.134(e)(2). 
• The requirement to use respirators must be based on the nature of the work or task performed. Employers must do what they can to ensure workers are protected from inhalation hazards. This can be done through implementation of engineering controls (e.g., local exhaust, wet methods, etc.) and/or work practice/administrative controls, and, if not feasible, by providing appropriate respiratory protection and ensuring employees inspect, clean/disinfect, maintain and store their respirators in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.134(h).

Additional - Enforcement guidance from OSHA received last week:

https://www.osha.gov/memos/2020-04-03/enforcement-guidance-respiratory-protection-and-n95-shortage-due-coronavirus  

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UDOT Facemask Guidelines

See the Guidance

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CDC Guidance Documents & Resources

The CDC is constantly updating their webpage with announcements, tools, and resources for individuals and companies. 

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COVID 19 Toolbox Talk

A toolbox talk outline for weekly safety meetings to help you and your crews stay safe and informed. 

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Safety Stand Down Toolbox Talks

On Thursday, April 9th, AGC members across the states can voluntarily participate in a nationwide Safety Stand Down to help educate our employees and slow the spread of COVID-19. AGC of America has provided the following toolbox talks to help participating companies in their discussions. 

• Toolbox Talk #1: Stop the Spread – Protecting Yourself and Others [PDF] [Word]
• Toolbox Talk #2: Keeping Construction Jobsites Safe During the COVID-19 Pandemic [PDF] [Word]
• Toolbox Talk #3: Stress & Coping with COVID-19 [PDF] [Word]

 

For More Information, Please Go To:

https://www.agc.org/coronavirus/safety-health-environmental-resources