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Law360 (April 13, 2020, 4:50 PM EDT) -- Employers should provide delivery workers with flexible schedules, look to minimize their interactions with customers and provide hand sanitizer to protect them as the coronavirus pandemic rages, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in guidance issued on Monday.
As COVID-19 continues to spread around the country, OSHA is advising employers to establish flexible work hours, including staggering shifts, for their workers wherever feasible, along with minimizing interactions between drivers and customers by leaving deliveries at loading docks, doorsteps or other locations that don't require person-to-person contact, according to a press release.
The administration also advised employers to provide workers with alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol, if they don't have access to soap and water to wash their hands. Employers should also provide disinfectant sprays and wipes for workers to clean their work surfaces, including vehicle interiors, OSHA said.
Workers should also be allowed to wear masks over their nose and mouth to prevent the spread of the virus, according to the press release. The DOL issued mask preservation guidance earlier this month directing employers to reduce their need for N95 respirators by changing practices, reusing respirators and using expired masks.
As of Monday, there are 554,849 cases of COVID-19 and 21,942 deaths from the virus in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most states have issued some kind of state-at-home order for residents and have closed schools and nonessential businesses.
The DOL has continued to pump out guidances for workers, employers and others grappling with the coronavirus and recent legislation responding to the crisis. It issued a temporary regulation on April 1 detailing employers' obligations to provide sick leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, adding to a lengthy Q&A and other documents that the agency has posted to its website over the past few weeks.
On Friday, the DOL issued guidance to states concerning the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program within the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
"The CARES Act provides valuable relief to American workers facing unemployment, including unemployed workers who may not otherwise be eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits," U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia said in a statement on Friday.
Under the compensation program, states can provide up to 13 weeks of federally funded benefits to people who have exhausted all rights to regular compensation, have no rights to regular compensation, are not receiving compensation, and are able to work or actively seeking work, according to the press release.
--Additional reporting by Braden Campbell and Stephen Cooper. Editing by Nicole Bleier.
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