Workplace Safety in Virginia
June 2020 – The Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) report offers details about the duties and obligations of contractors and employees under the Virginia Workplace Safety Regulations. They issued a short-term pandemic action plan for the workplace safety Covid-19. There is a guide manual on the training of COVID-19 workplaces.
Both the public sector and the corporate sector employers are now regulated by state workplace safety and health laws. Certain federal workers’ protection and health standards, including threat coordination, have been implemented by the Legislature. The State has implemented stricter policies than federal requirements for certain security-specific issues in the workplace, such as agricultural side-work operations.
Workplace Safety
The Emergency plan sets required standards for employers at three different levels of exposure of COVID-19. All managers are expected to monitor their workplaces for occupational risk, adopt procedures for staff reporting coronavirus signs and positive tests, and exclude personnel with symptoms from the workplace for 14 days.
They must mandate physical distancing, request protective gear, establish a hygiene and disinfection schedule, and provide personnel with instruction on stat criteria. High-risk organizations are often expected to incorporate safety measures to reduce the likelihood of vulnerability to COVID-19 and to include respiratory security for workers.
The Board stated that workplaces that conform with all OSHA / CDC requirements would be assumed to meet with Virginia requirements.
High Risk Workplaces
The regulations lay out strict rules for workplaces that are considered to be at high or medium risk. The guidelines describe high-risk environments as settings, general medical care, in which managers allow employees to come into contact with individuals reported or believed to have COVID-19.
High-risk jobs are described as those that involve “more than limited professional interaction within six feet with other workers … or the wider community, like poultry and meat production, correctional facilities, agriculture and handicraft employment, grocery stores, education providers, transportation restaurants, gyms, and spas.
Violation of Rules and Fines
Federal law requires employers to have a workplace “clean of known risks,” such that even in the lack of COVID-specific requirements, workers who refuse to comply with the requirement may be fined by the Government. But during the epidemic, OSHA filed only one quotation to the employer, despite some 4,000 complaints.
The overall penalty for breaking the laws will be $13,000, but frequent breaches may result in penalties of up to $130,000. Companies may receive low fines based on the workforce size. However, the minimum penalty is $600.
Why You Need a Workers Compensation Attorney
The Workers Compensation Commission is an agency of a U.S. state that oversees the resolution of workers’ compensation claims brought in that state, in accordance with the that State’s Workers’ Compensation Act and has exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate such claims. However, the claims are mostly managed by the employers’ insurance companies who help determine how to pay the minimum amount for claims and often attempt to deny your claim.
Hilton & Somer, LLC: Workers Compensation Attorney Serving Virginia, Maryland, & Washington D.C.
Our workers compensation attorneys help those individuals who have been injured in the workplace. We keep them updated about all the available options and help them make the best decisions about proceeding in their case.
Get in touch with our experienced Workers Compensation Attorney today.
If you have suffered an injury on the job, help is available. Get in touch with the trusted Workers Compensation Lawyer at Hilton & Somer, LLC today to discuss your case. You can reach us through our online contact form, or by calling (703) 560-0700.
References for “Workplace Safety in Virginia”:
- https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/virginia-cracking-down-on-workplace-safety-filling-osha-void/
- https://www.osha.gov/stateplans/va
- https://www.doli.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/COVID-19-ETS-Emg-Reg-Infectious-Disease-Prevention-SARS-CoV-2-and-COVID-19-REVISED-FINAL-6.23.2020-WTC.pdf
