CDC Issues Guidance for "Critical Infrastructure Workers" Exposed to COVID-19
On April 8, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), issued new guidance on when “critical infrastructure workers” – such as those in the health care, law enforcement, janitorial, food and agriculture, critical manufacturing, information technology, and transportation industries -- can return to work following potential exposure to COVID-19. The CDC defines a “potential exposure” as “being a household contact or having close contact within 6 feet of an individual with confirmed or suspected COVID-19.
In its guidance, the CDC indicates that critical infrastructure workers who have had a potential exposure to COVID-19 but remain asymptomatic should adhere to the following practices before and after their work shift:
Pre-Shift Screening: Employers should measure the employee’s temperature and assess symptoms before he/she starts work, ideally before the individual enters the facility.
Regular Monitoring: So long as the employee does not have a temperature or symptoms, he/she should self-monitor under the supervision of the employer’s occupational health program.
Wearing a Mask: The employee should wear a face mask – whether a standard mask or an employee-supplied cloth face covering -- at all times while in the workplace for fourteen (14) days after being exposed.
Social Distancing: The employee should practice social distancing as work duties permit in the workplace.
Cleaning and Disinfecting: The employer should routinely clean and disinfect areas like offices, bathrooms, common areas, and shared electronic equipment.
The CDC continues that if an employee becomes sick with symptoms of COVID-19 while at work, the employer should send him/her home immediately and clean and disinfect the surfaces in his/her workspace. In addition, the employer should compile information on persons who had contact with the ill employer during the day he/she had symptoms and two (2) days before.
Notably, the CDC makes clear that this guidance for “critical infrastructure workers” does not apply to its generally applicable guidance issued in early March. In continuing their operations, “critical” or “life-sustaining” businesses should continue to follow timely guidance from the CDC and OSHA as well as the cleaning protocols recently issued by the state Secretary of Health. For any questions on this or any other labor and employment law topic, please contact the attorneys at Hoffman & Hlavac.