OSHA Must Protect Workers!
DEADLINE IS TOMORROW! OSHA is taking public comment through Friday Sept 29
Make your voice heard:
Submit a public comment regarding Docket No. OSHA-2023-0012 urging the Federal Advisory Committee to ensure OSHA acts on the following:
COVID infections must be counted as an illness in the workplace.
Maintains N95 respirators in care of COVID patients in healthcare settings
Ensures workers have access and rights to use high quality masks in all workplace settings.
Improve ventilation and implement air filtration in all indoor settings.
Submitted comments to Docket No. OSHA-2023-0012 must be received by OSHA no later than September 29, 2023 11:59 p.m., EST
Instructions:
Paste your thoughts under “Comment.”
Under “What is your comment about?” Select “Rules”
Select Individual, An Organization, or Anonymous
Provide your name if Individual is selected.
Press Submit Comment
The Federal Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) is seeking public comment on reducing injuries and illnesses in the federal workforce and establishing while maintaining effective occupational safety and health programs. It’s important to submit a personalized comment, which could include counting COVID infections as an illness in the workplace, maintaining N95 masks in healthcare settings in care of COVID patients, ensuring access to high quality respirators in the workplace, improving ventilation, and implementing air filtration in all indoor settings. Feel free to use the points or borrow the language in our sample letter below.
Docket No. OSHA-2023-0012
COVID-19 infections continue to injure, harm, and cause mortality among Americans. Based on both case counts and estimates, millions of Americans also are suffering from Long COVID. It is important that Americans, those in the federal workforce and patients cared for in health care settings are also protected from COVID-19 infections. SARS-CoV-2 is spread via inhalation of aerosol particles with a higher risk at indoor settings compared to outdoor settings. Layers of protection including high quality respirators such as N95s, ventilation, and air filtration have been demonstrated to protect individuals from a COVID19-infection.
COVID-19 infections must be counted as an illness in any workplace setting. Designating COVID-19 as an illness will allow federal workers sick with COVID-19 to have enough time to properly rest and recover from an infection, Furthermore, it will protect coworkers and clients from a COVID-19 infection, which will ultimately prevent outbreaks.
OSHA plays an important role in ensuring healthcare workers are protected from infections when caring for COVID-19 patients, and patients are protected from workers infected with COVID-19. Policies must remain in place to ensure healthcare workers have access to high quality N95 respirators when caring for COVID-19 patients and that COVID-19 patients must be quarantined in a negative pressure room. If healthcare workers stop wearing N95 respirators while caring for COVID-19 patients, many more will develop COVID-19. Because over 50% of COVID-19 transmission occurs before people develop symptoms, they may pass it to their coworkers or patients in a maskless healthcare setting. Policies must also be established that allow workers to use a high quality respirator in their workplace setting at all times.
I ask OSHA to fulfill its mission, which is “to protect the safety and health of America’s workers.” COVID-19 remains a serious safety and health issue for America’s workers. I ask that you ensure agencies such as CDC provide the best recommendations that employ a multi-layer approach to protect federal workers and their clients from COVID-19 infections.
Submitted comments to Docket No. OSHA-2023-0012 must be received by OSHA no later than September 29, 2023 11:59 p.m., EST