Help Avoid and Defend Against COVID-19 Lawsuits by Following OSHA, CDC, and Other Guidelines

June 26, 2020

The nation’s employment attorneys are anticipating an onslaught of lawsuits over workplace exposures to COVID-19. To help avoid these lawsuits, and mount an affirmative defense if they do occur, it is recommended that employers develop a comprehensive COVID-19 exposure control plan. A single document showing that the company is carefully following OSHA, CDC, and health department guidance, to help prevent employees from contracting and spreading the virus, would go a long way towards an affirmative defense, should a lawsuit ensue. A current comprehensive plan establishes a record showing how thoughtful and complete the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been. If you don’t have a current exposure control plan, see the MCAA Model COVID-19 Return to Work Exposure Control Plan for guidance.

Once you have established your company’s exposure control plan it is critical that you keep it updated. OSHA, CDC, health department, and local critical industries requirements change frequently due to constant COVID-19 research. Carefully monitor MCAA’s COVID-19 Resource Center to help keep your plan updated.

Related Articles
OSHA recently updated their guidelines on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, which reflects the July 27, 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mask and testing recommendations for fully vaccinated people.…
Each week, MCAA will highlight one or more of the educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership. This week, we focus on MCAA’s new safety training video, Master the Mechanics: Hand & Power Tool Safety for the Mechanical Trades. The video provides trainees with information on the most common hand and power tool injuries in the mechanical construction and service trades. It highlights the tools most likely to be involved in an injury incident, and teaches proper use of the tools to help prevent injuries.…
MCAA extends a warm welcome to Raffi Elchemmas, who will be joining the staff starting August 2, 2021. He will be MCAA’s new Executive Director of Safety, Health and Risk Management, learning the ropes before Pete's upcoming retirement. Raffi comes to us from Milwaukee Tool, where he was the National Manager, Health & Safety. He is a board-certified ergonomist with an MBA in Sales Leadership & Health Sector Management from DePaul University. He has been a member of MCAA’s Safety and Health Committee since 2019. MCAA is pleased to welcome Raffi to the staff, and his wife Martha, daughter Nina, and son Vartan to the MCAA staff family.…
STIHL is recalling to repair certain TS 410 and TS 420 cut-off machines manufactured between January 2021 and April 2021. In some of these machines the flywheel can break apart while the engine is running, posing a projectile hazard to the users or bystanders. If you have any of these machines, immediately discontinue use and take them to an authorized STIHL dealer for free repair. …
Load More...