16 states require COVID safety training — does yours?

A third of states now require employers to conduct COVID safety training with employees. Read on to see if your state is one of them.

The Clear Law Institute compiled a list of all the states with training requirements for coronavirus workplace safety.

These states now require COVID safety training:

• California
• Connecticut
• Illinois
• Kentucky
• Maine (Retail only)
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Virginia, and
• Washington.

OSHA letting the fines fly

No matter where you’re located, OSHA is on the prowl for companies that come up short on workplace safety during the coronavirus pandemic.

In fact, since the global health crisis started, OSHA has levied $484,069 in penalties for COVID-related shortfalls.

So what have your peers gotten popped for? These are just some of the reasons companies came up short in OSHA’s eyes since March:

• not implementing a written respiratory protection program
• failing to provide training on the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• not properly recording an injury or illness, and
• failing to report an injury, illness or fatality.

Even though OSHA has no specific COVID requirements, employers are expected to follow existing standards that cover pandemic-related safety risks.

So the person in charge of safety should be able to shed some light on what’s expected.