Event Details

COVID-19 has impacted every part of our lives.  It has changed how we interact in public and in private.  Nowhere is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic more apparent than in the workplace.  With extensive requirements for business to address COVID-19 that continue to change, what does Minnesota OSHA expect businesses to do?  What should you be evaluating?

This presentation will cover what each business in Minnesota is expected to do to address COVID-19 in their workplace.  Each business is required to have a COVID-19 preparedness plan to detail how they will protect employees during the pandemic.  The details of a COVID-19 preparedness plan incorporate many requirements of OSHA standards that each business must evaluate.  Multiple standards may apply to a business when having to address COVID-19 in the workplace from the respiratory protection standard, the hazard communication standard to the standard for personal protection equipment, COVID-19 is a recordable illness if it is work related.  This presentation will cover how to determine if a case of COVID-19 is considered recordable under the OSHA recordkeeping standard.  It will also cover reporting requirements and how to determine if a work-related case of COVID-19 that results in hospitalization or death is required to be reported to MNOSHA.  

This presentation will also address how MN OSHA is approaching COVID-19 related inspections and what citations are being written.  Finally, details on how MNOSHA’s consultative unit, Workplace Safety Consultation, can help your business with all your safety and health needs, including steps to prevent COVID-19 in your workplace.

Learning objectives:

• What OSHA standards to pay attention to when evaluating your facility and COVID-19 preparedness plan.
• What the Memorandums of enforcement say for requirements related to specific standards.
• What is MN OSHA’s approach to COVID-19 related inspections.

This seminar will be presented by Breca Tschida, Ergonomics Program Coordinator and Industrial Hygienist for Minnesota OSHA’s consultive group, Workplace Safety Consultation.

Breca is a Certified Professional Ergonomist and has a Master of Public Health (MSPH) in industrial hygiene.  Throughout the pandemic, she has been detailed to a multiagency team with the Minnesota Department of Health to develop guidance for COVID-19 transmission mitigation.

For the last eleven years, Breca has worked to expand the assistance provided by the Minnesota OSHA consultation unit on ergonomics through the development of materials, websites, and the cultivation of networking groups to provide resources to stakeholders.  Prior to working for the Minnesota Department of Labor, she was a private consultant in industrial hygiene and ergonomics.  Before going into private consulting, Breca was a health compliance officer and senior member of the ergonomics team for OSHA compliance with the North Carolina Department of Labor and Industry.