The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s Worker Safety Board voted Monday to remove the Emergency Temporary Standards that established requirements for employers to control the spread of Covid-19 in the workplace.
The repeal is effective Wednesday, March 23.
The board evaluated the current Covid-19 infections in Virginia, mitigation strategies, and determined that the Covid-19 virus no longer poses a grave danger to Virginians.
This eliminates the need for social distancing and use of masks in the workplace, among other mitigation measures.
The new standards say, "During this transition period of near normalcy, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Department of Labor and Industry support and respect the rights of individuals to choose whether to wear masks or to not wear masks in non-federally mandated environments, unless required by law or as medically appropriate in cases of acute illness or in certain healthcare environments."
Employers should engage with workers to mitigate COVID-19 transmission and the impact of contracting the virus, including:
- Facilitate employees getting vaccinated and boosted;
- Encourage any workers with COVID-19 symptoms to stay home from work and seek advice on testing and treatment from their physician;
- Require all workers infected with COVID-19 virus to stay home;
- Provide workers with face coverings or surgical masks, as appropriate;
- Encourage good sanitary work habits such as frequent hand washing;
- Educate workers on your COVID-19 policies and procedures using accessible formats and in languages they understand;
- Operate and maintain ventilation systems in accordance to manufacturers specifications to achieve optimal performance;
- Record and report COVID-19 infections and deaths which are mandatory under VOSH regulations part 1904;
- Follow other applicable mandatory VOSH standards.
All of VOSH's standards that apply to protecting workers from infection remain in place.
