Construction Businesses: Navigating State and Federal COVID-19 Workplace Safety Requirements
On April 28, Governor Mills released Restarting Maine’s Economy, which lays out a plan for re-opening non-essential businesses. Businesses that were previously deemed essential, including construction businesses, may continue operations – the Governor’s new plan does not impact them.
However, as the pandemic evolves, the State is shifting its attention to COVID-19 prevention and workplace safety. In light of this, this is a good time for construction businesses to review their workplace safety protocols to ensure compliance with the latest state and federal guidance on COVID-19 prevention.
Below are the compliance checklists and guidance documents that construction businesses need to follow as they continue operations and begin the summer construction season.
Maine
- Department of Economic and Community Development: Restarting Maine’s Economy COVID-19 Prevention Checklist for All Businesses. All construction businesses need to comply with this Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) recently issued checklist, which covers all Maine businesses.
- Department of Labor: Guidance for Construction Employers in Maine for Addressing COVID-19. This Department of Labor (DOL) guidance document provides recommendations and suggestions for construction businesses to implement COVID-19 prevention measures, including those in the DECD checklist. This DOL guidance includes, and overlaps with, much of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommendations for COVID-19, discussed below.
Federal
- OSHA General Guidance: Preparing the Workplace for COVID-19. This comprehensive general guidance document covers OSHA recommendations for COVID-19 prevention for all business types.
- This document classifies all job types for risk of COVID-19 infection. Most construction workers will fall under the low-risk category. OSHA has provided a useful one-page reference guide to understand worker classifications. Construction businesses are expected to review the classifications and implement risk-appropriate controls and prevention measures.
- OSHA Construction Business Guidance: COVID-19 Guidance for the Construction Workforce. This one-page guidance document provides an overview of the prevention controls and measures that all construction businesses need to implement based on the general guidance above.
To ensure full compliance, construction businesses are advised to refer to all four sets of guidance. While there are overlaps among them, each one of them contains information that pertains to reducing workers’ risks of contracting COVID-19 on the worksite.
