Virginia Enacts First-Of-Its-Kind Regulation To Protect Workers From Coronavirus – By Dave Jamieson (Huff Post) / July 16 2020
The state said it acted because the Trump administration is sitting on its hands.
Virginia leaders approved a new set of rules Wednesday that employers throughout the state must follow to protect workers during the pandemic ― a step Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam said he was taking because the federal government has done so little to keep workplaces safe from the coronavirus.
The Virginia regulation requires that employers follow social-distancing guidelines and provide masks to workers who deal with customers. In workplaces where it isn’t possible to spread out, employers will have to provide hand sanitizer or access to sinks, and regularly clean work surfaces.
Employers must notify workers within 24 hours when a coworker has tested positive for COVID-19. Anyone believed to have the virus must stay off the job for at least 10 days, or until they’ve tested negative two times. And workplaces in higher-risk fields must develop infectious-disease response plans if they haven’t already.
Many of the requirements sound like the commonsense recommendations coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, but with one major difference: Employers are legally bound to follow them, subject to inspections and fines.
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