The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Level
- Federal
- Authority
- 29 U.S.C. 654(a)(2), 655; 29 C.F.R. 1910.134
- Issued
- 1998-01-08 Jan. 8, 1998
- Effective
- standing (read as 1998-01-08)
- End
- standing (read as 2021-09-30)
- In force
- Standing since Jan. 8, 1998 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Health care ordersWorkplace rulesStanding duty
- Addressees
- all general-industry employers whose employees require respirators; every hospital, nursing home, dental office, EMS and home-health employer in practice
- Character
- regulatory duty
- Collection
- Standing duties: Federal layer DUT-FED
Operative words
(a)(2) A respirator shall be provided to each employee when such equipment is necessary to protect the health of such employee. The employer shall provide the respirators which are applicable and suitable for the purpose intended. The employer shall be responsible for the establishment and maintenance of a respiratory protection program... (c)(1)... the employer to develop and implement a written respiratory protection program with required worksite-specific procedures and elements for required respirator use.
Penalty
What it required
Wherever respirators (N95 and other filtering facepieces) were necessary to protect employees from SARS-CoV-2, the employer had to provide them and run a written program with medical evaluation, fit testing, training and maintenance. This was the most frequently cited standard in OSHA's COVID-19 inspections (Exs. DUT-FED-020, -067; the enforcement record's 2020 rows are dominated by 1910.134(c)(1), (e)(1), (f)(2), Ex. AGY-FED-LABOR-IMMIGRATION-033). OSHA's temporary enforcement memoranda of March 14, April 3, April 8 and April 24, 2020 adjusted fit-testing and shortage enforcement without suspending the duty (Exs. AGY-FED-LABOR-IMMIGRATION-015 to -018, -022).