Advocacy News – November 24, 2020<\/b><\/p>\n
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) announced last week it is increasing its focus on workplace safety in the\u00a0construction\u00a0and\u00a0manufacturing\u00a0<\/i>industries through two State Emphasis Programs (SEP).\u00a0 The goal of these programs,\u00a0 similar to the SEP for offices<\/a>, is to ensure compliance with workplace safety rules related to COVID-19.<\/p>\n The\u00a0construction<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0manufacturing<\/a> SEPs will be in effect through Feb. 8, 2021.\u00a0 Under the SEPs, MIOSHA staff will conduct random enforcement inspections at construction sites and manufacturing establishments. If the inspections determine deficiencies in the employer\u2019s COVID-19 preparedness and response plans, citations and penalties up to $7,000 may be issued.<\/p>\n In the requirements posted at\u00a0Michigan.gov\/COVIDworkplacesafety<\/a>\u00a0and according to requirements of the\u00a0CDC guidelines<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19<\/a>, some of the steps that construction and manufacturing businesses must take include:<\/p>\n The state\u2019s full press release on the SEP plan can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n