Important Compliance Checklist for New Va. Safety Standards

Dear WANADA Members,

Ahead of the implementation of Virginia's state-specific COVID-related workplace safety and education standards, our legal partners at Charapp & Weiss have created a very important Emergency Temporary Standard compliance checklist for businesses in the commonwealth.

Please review this checklist and take great care that you are following this checklist, which outlines everything Virginia businesses, particularly those with employees in customer-facing positions, must do to ensure compliance with the published standards. 

If you have not already done so, please make sure you also review the documents on the state Department of Labor and Industry's COVID safety standards homepage, along with the accompanying Frequently Asked Questions page, as soon as you can. 

As we previously noted, the DOLI has also created a helpful infographic that features the steps you must take in order to comply with these workplace safety regulations, which go above and beyond the state's phase three guidelines and best practices. 

The workplace risk assessment training requirements for businesses with employees in medium-to-high risk (which begin on page 43 of the regulations) are effective as of August 26. According to the regulations, employees at public-facing retail businesses are automatically classified as, at minimum, "medium-risk" employees. While it is possible to have all employees classified as low-risk and thus avoid this requirement, please pay special attention to the masking, social distancing and other requirements if you intend to pursue this course.

Businesses are also required to develop an infectious disease response plan, and to provide all employees at medium-risk jobs (or higher) with training on COVID-19 symptom awareness, safety education, and appropriate uses of personal protective equipment. This plan must be developed no later than September 25.

As always, please continue complying with all state and CDC mandates and best-practices, and continue rigidly documenting your efforts to do so. It is critical that you do all you can to help prevent the spread of this virus, while ensuring your employees and customers are safe, and your business is compliant and able operate safely.

Please let me or Joe Koch (jk@wanada.org) know if you have any questions. Thank you, as always, for your commitment to safety and security during this difficult time.

Sincerely,
  
John O'Donnell
WANADA President and CEO