COVID-19 Business Resources

Here is a list of resources to help businesses navigate questions regarding COVID-19 in the workplace. This list will be updated as more resources become available.

Current CDC Guidance

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/isolation.html

Oregon COVID-19 Rule Changes

In line with updated public health guidance from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), Oregon OSHA will rescind its COVID-19 requirements for all workplaces and employer-provided housing beginning April 3, 2023.

In order to rescind the rules, the division, under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), must first implement a “temporary rule,” suspending the COVID-19 requirements, which will take effect on April 3. Suspending the COVID-19 requirements through a temporary rule will give Oregon OSHA the time it needs under the APA to adopt a rule that makes the rescission of COVID-19 requirements permanent.

Oregon OSHA had already removed many of the COVID requirements – including indoor use of facial coverings – for general workplaces and employer-provided housing while keeping such measures in place for health care settings. The division finalized those rule changes in late September 2022 using the same process that will be utilized here and following updates to public health guidance and stakeholder input.

Oregon OSHA’s current move to fully rescind its COVID-19 requirements – including for health care settings – further aligns the division with OHA’s most recently updated guidance and additional stakeholder feedback.

Also, Oregon OSHA will implement rule changes to its existing protective work clothing provisions to allow workers to still wear a facial covering if they so choose. If the employer requires a facial covering, the employer must provide it at no cost to the worker. The change is in response to a request that grew out of the division’s discussions with its rulemaking advisory committees, OHA, and other stakeholders. Moreover, provisions requiring employers to cover the costs of COVID-19 testing – if the employer directs such testing – will no longer stay in place as an Oregon OSHA requirement. Instead, such measures would fall under existing rules maintained by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.

As Oregon OSHA makes those changes, the division will continue to meet, at least monthly, with its Agricultural Labor Housing Advisory Committee to seek comprehensive safety and health improvements to the division’s employer-provided housing rules.

More details about all of these changes and rulemaking efforts are available in the following Workplace Advisory Memo:

https://osha.oregon.gov/OSHARules/advisorymemos/advisory-memo-covid-19-rule-requirement-changes.pdf