On June 30, 2021, Oregon OSHA revised its COVID-19 regulations by removing the facial covering and physical distancing requirements of its COVID-19 rule (i.e., OAR 437-001-0744) for all workplaces, with certain exceptions, including health care, public transit, and airports.
The rule retains the provision that an employee who chooses to wear a mask, face shield, or face covering, even when not required, must be permitted to wear one. In addition, posting requirements have been updated from COVID-19 content to instead remind employers of the importance of posting the “It’s the Law” poster already required by OAR 437-001-0275 (2)(a).
These changes do not mean that all of Oregon OSHA’s COVID-19 requirements are being rescinded. Examples of measures that remain in place include optimization of ventilation, notification of a positive case in the workplace, and proper steps to take if an employee must quarantine.
Oregon OSHA stated they are committed to an ongoing process to eventually repeal the rules in their entirety when they are no longer needed to address the pandemic in the workplace. Oregon OSHA continues to meet on a regular basis with stakeholders about the eventual full repeal of the requirements.
For more information on these changes, Oregon OSHA provided supporting documents at https://osha.oregon.gov/OSHARules/adopted/2021/ao4-2021-letter-cov19-allworkplaces.pdf More about Oregon OSHA’s workplace guidance and resources related to COVID-19 can be found at https://osha.oregon.gov/Pages/re/covid-19.aspx
For more information, please contact Marci Kinter at mkinter@printing.org, Gary Jones at gjones@printing.org, or Adriane Harrison, aharrison@printing.org.