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Re-Opening Guidance for St. Louis City & St. Louis County

Effective May 18th, St. Louis City and St. Louis County, in coordination with the Economic Development Partnership, will begin navigating toward the re-opening of our community.  Here you will find their most current guidance for businesses and individuals as of May 12th, 2020.  As always, for the most recent developments and updates please visit the following:

St. Louis City – COVID-19 Coronavirus Information
St. Louis County News & Updates

St. Louis City Re-Opening Guidance (as of May 12, 2020):

Health Commissioner’s Order #8
Phase I Reopening Standards and Guidance was originally posted on 5/8/2020, and updated on 5/11/2020 to include the Health Commissioner’s Order #8 and Exhibits.

Order No. 8 Document
Phase I Reopening Standards and Guidance Established by Order No. 8

For the recent updates at the local level, please visit the following:
St. Louis City – COVID-19 Coronavirus Information

St. Louis County Re-Opening Guidance (as of May 12, 2020):

St. Louis County Department of Public Health COVID-19
Update May 13, 2020
– Business Guidance
Together, in coordination with the City of St. Louis and the Economic Development Partnership, business operating guidelines for the entire St. Louis Region have been released and posted online. The following protocols can be found at stlcorona.com.

Hotels
Commercial Office Building Operations
Restaurant (with dine-in) Operations
Transportation Services
Business Office Operations
Construction, Manufacturing and Repair Services
Personal Services
Retail Operations

Individual businesses can ask specific questions about how the guidance applies to their business by emailing business-covid@stlouisco.com.

St. Louis County COVID-19 News & Updates as of 05/12/2020 (download)

For the recent updates at the local level, please visit the following:
St. Louis County News & Updates


Crane Agency has provided some additional resources below to help assist businesses and individuals with this transition, which can be downloaded here:

SAMPLE COVID-19 Exposure, Prevention, Preparedness and Response Plan – General Industry(download)
SAMPLE COVID-19 Exposure, Prevention, Preparedness and Response Plan – Construction (download)


Additional Guidance:


Other Helpful Resources:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
.

CDC Print Resources  
These resources were developed to support COVID-19 recommendations and are free for download from the CDC website.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration:

Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19

Environmental Health Organization:

For a full list of EPA-approved disinfection techniques and tools, follow this link:
https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/disinfectant-use-and-coronavirus-covid-19

For additional information and resources, please visit the Crane Agency Coronavirus Preparedness Resources page on our website.

OSHA Considers Good Faith Efforts When Enforcing Compliance During Pandemic

U.S. Department of Labor  |  April 16, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Considers Employer’s Good Faith Efforts When Enforcing Compliance During Coronavirus Pandemic

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued interim guidance to advise compliance safety and health officers to evaluate an employer’s good faith efforts to comply with safety and health standards during the coronavirus pandemic.

Current infection control practices may limit the availability of employees, consultants, or contractors who normally provide training, auditing, equipment inspections, testing, and other essential safety and industrial hygiene services. Business closures and other restrictions may also preclude employee participation in training if trainers are unavailable and access to medical testing facilities may be limited or suspended.

During an inspection, compliance safety and health officers should assess an employer’s efforts to comply with standards that require annual or recurring audits, reviews, training or assessments. Officers should evaluate if the employer:

  • Explored all options to comply with applicable standards (e.g., use of virtual training or remote communication strategies);
  • Implemented interim alternative protections, such as engineering or administrative controls; and
  • Rescheduled required annual activity as soon as possible.

Employers unable to comply with OSHA requirements because local authorities required the workplace to close should demonstrate a good faith attempt to meet applicable requirements as soon as possible following the re-opening of the workplace.

OSHA will take employers’ attempts to comply in good faith into strong consideration when determining whether it cites a violation. The agency may issue a citation if it finds an employer cannot demonstrate any efforts to comply. To ensure corrective actions employers have taken once normal activities resume, OSHA will develop a program to conduct monitoring inspections from a randomized sampling of cases where the agency noted, but did not cite, violations.

This guidance takes effect immediately, and remains in effect until further notice. It is time-limited interim guidance in effect due to the current public health crisis. Visit OSHA’s COVID-19 webpage frequently for updates.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to help ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, education, and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

For more information, please contact your Crane Agency Broker Unit.

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Media Contacts:

Emily Weeks, weeks.emily.c@dol.gov

Release Number: 20-625-NAT

OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19

To reduce the impact of COVID-19 outbreak conditions on businesses, workers, customers, and the public, it is important for all employers to plan now for COVID-19. For employers who have already planned for influenza pandemics, planning for COVID-19 may involve updating plans to address the specific exposure risks, sources of exposure, routes of transmission, and other unique characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 (i.e., compared to pandemic influenza viruses). Employers who have not prepared for pandemic events should prepare themselves and their workers as far in advance as possible of potentially worsening outbreak conditions. Lack of continuity planning can result in a cascade of failures as employers attempt to address challenges of COVID-19 with insufficient resources and workers who might not be adequately trained for jobs they may have to perform under pandemic conditions.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed this COVID-19 planning guidance based on traditional infection prevention and industrial hygiene practices. It focuses on the need for employers to implement engineering, administrative, and work practice controls and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as considerations for doing so.

This guidance is intended for planning purposes. Employers and workers should use this planning guidance to help identify risk levels in workplace settings and to determine any appropriate control measures to implement. Additional guidance may be needed as COVID-19 outbreak conditions change, including as new information about the virus, its transmission, and impacts, becomes available.

OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19

OSHA Cornerstones – Q1 2020

Additional Resources:

OSHA Health & Safety Topics COVID-19

CDC Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers

World Health Organization Coronavirus Guidance