The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Level
- Federal
- Authority
- 42 U.S.C. 241; 29 U.S.C. 654(a)(1) (OSHA's enforcement plan measures the general duty clause against this guidance)
- Issued
- 2020-04-26 Apr. 26, 2020
- Effective
- 2020-04-26
- End
- updated July 9, 2020 (Ex. DUT-FED-062) (read as 2020-07-09)
- In force
- Apr. 26, 2020 to July 9, 2020
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Face-covering requirementWorkplace rulesQuarantine and isolationSupply chain
- Addressees
- meat and poultry processing employers
- Character
- agency guidance recommendation
- Collection
- Standing duties: Federal layer DUT-FED
Operative words
CDC's Critical Infrastructure Guidance advises that critical infrastructure workers may be permitted to continue work following potential exposure to COVID-19, provided they remain asymptomatic and additional precautions are implemented to protect them and the community. All meat and poultry processing facilities developing plans for continuing operations in the setting of COVID-19 occurring among workers or in the surrounding community should (1) work directly with appropriate state and local public health officials and occupational safety and health professionals; (2) incorporate relevant aspects of CDC guidance, including but not limited to this document and the CDC's Critical Infrastructure Guidance; and (3) incorporate guidance from other authoritative sources or regulatory bodies as needed.
Penalty
none in the guidance; the general duty clause supplied the sanction
What it required
Recommendation: line distancing and barriers, cohorting, screening, face coverings, staggered shifts, cleaning and exposure response in meat and poultry plants. Executive Order 13917 (Apr. 28, 2020) directed the Secretary of Agriculture to keep plants operating 'consistent with the guidance for their operations jointly issued by the CDC and OSHA' (Ex. FED-073), and the Secretary's May 5, 2020 letters directed processors to follow it (Ex. AGY-FED-LANDS-SCIENCE-COURTS-002); OSHA's Smithfield and JBS general duty clause citations followed (Exs. DUT-FED-015, -016). Character as recorded: agency_guidance_recommendation ('should'; 'may be permitted'), incorporated by Executive Order 13917 and the USDA Secretary's letters of May 5, 2020.
Retrieval noteUndated print version of the original April 26, 2020 text (it lacks the 'Updated July 9, 2020' line and the 'have not had a positive test result' clause added in July).