OSHA released further guidance to Certified Safety and Health Officials (CSHO) on enforcement of annual training, medical evaluations (respiratory and audigram), and recognizing good-faith efforts in light of COVID-19.

To read the guidance memo, please click the link below.

OSHA Enforcement Memo - April 16, 2020

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, includes a program called the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program to expand unemployment benefits. Please find below some items to note from the directive:

• "Quitting work without good cause to obtain UI benefits is fraud under PUA. Specifically related to PUA, 20 C.F.R. 625.14 governs overpayments and disqualifications for fraud. States are expected to enforce this provision." (Pg. 2)
• "These requirements include that individuals are only entitled to benefits if they are no longer working through no fault of their own and that individuals must be able and available to work."

To receive unemployment benefits, individuals must have a valid reason for being unable to work. For further questions, please use the links below to find your state unemployment office and find more information on the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program from the Department of Labor.

Find State Unemployment Office

Dept. of Labor Information on PUA

PUA Directive for Unemployment Offices

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development is now accepting online applications for PUA claims. To learn about PUA in Wisconsin, eligibility, and FAQs for claimants and employers, click the links below.

DWD - PUA Overview

DWD COVID-19 Scenarios for Eligibility

DWD FAQs for Unemployment Claimants and Employers

Governor Tony Evers extended the "Safer at Home" through Emergency Order #28 on April 16, 2020. This order maintains the social distancing requirements and nonessential business closures. Businesses that are essential or that support essential infrastructure can remain open.

After extensive communications between WPCA and Governor Evers’ staff and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) it is our interpretation that Wisconsin’s Precast Concrete manufacturers meets the criteria of “essential work” and your facilities can remain open. Please be advised, Emergency Orders and regulatory interpretation is subject to future revisions and/or change. If that occurs, WPCA will communicate those changes immediately

This order is effective Friday, April 24, 2020 at 8:00am and will remain in effect until Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 8:00am, or until a superseding order is issued. Please click the link below to view the entire Emergency Order.

Emergency Order #28

On April 10th, 2020, OSHA released guidance to Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) for enforcing recordkeeping practices for COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. COVID-19 is an illness that must be recorded according to OSHA's recordkeeping requirements, but there are certain exceptions outlined in the memo for employers. Please find the memo below:

If you have any questions, please contact the following:

Mary M. Bauer  CIH, CSP
Compliance Assistance Specialist
Eau Claire OSHA Office
1310 West Clairemont Ave.
Eau Claire, WI 54701
bauer.mary@dol.gov

On April 3rd, 2020, OSHA released guidance to Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) for enforcing the Respiratory Protection standard and certain other health standards, with regard to supply shortages of disposable N95 filtering facepiece respirators.

If you have any questions, please contact the following:

Mary M. Bauer  CIH, CSP
Compliance Assistance Specialist
Eau Claire OSHA Office
1310 West Clairemont Ave.
Eau Claire, WI 54701
bauer.mary@dol.gov

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect all of us, the WPCA wanted to inform all WPCA members / employers of a new federal posting requirement. The recently signed Family First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) requires employers to post the FFCRA poster no later than the close of business April 1, 2020.

For further questions or access to a PDF copy of the poster, information about FFCRA, and posting requirements, please find the links below.

Given Emergency Order #12, there is some concern that employees will be stopped by law enforcement and fined if they do not have evidence of a legitimate reason to be traveling according to the order.

WPCA has provided a letter template below that members can update with their company information and print copies for their employees to keep in their vehicles. This is a DRAFT letter for members' use if they so choose. Please feel free to tailor and revise to suit you and your company's needs.

Governor Tony Evers issued Emergency Order #12, or the "Safer At Home" Emergency Order, on March 24, 2020. This order requires all nonessential businesses to shut down and only allows people to leave their house for essential work or to get supplies as outlined in the order. 

After extensive communications between WPCA and Governor Evers’ staff and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) it is our interpretation that Wisconsin’s Precast Concrete manufacturers meets the criteria of “essential work” and your facilities can remain open.  Please be advised, Emergency Orders and regulatory interpretation is subject to future revisions and/or change. If that occurs, WPCA will communicate those changes immediately. The following is an applicable list of the essential businesses that can remain in operation if they provide/manufacture:

This order is effective Wednesday, March 25, 2020 at 8:00am and will remain in effect until Friday, April 24, 2020 at 8:00am, or until a superseding order is issued. Please click the link below to view the entire Emergency Order.

Emergency Order #12

Effective immediately, the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) has postponed all crane courses and exams due to COVID-19. For crane certifications that expire in March or April 2020, NCCCO is extending the deadline for recertification. Please see the text below from NCCCO's Memo:

"Effective immediately, certificants will be granted additional time in which to complete recertification requirements, that is, an additional 60 days from the last day of the month in which the Declaration of Emergency was declared to take recertification exams. This means that certificants whose certification expires in March 2020 or April 2020 may now test for recertification no later than May 31, 2020 and thereby meet recertification requirements.

Please note the original certification expiration date is not extended. If successful, a certificant’s recertification will be deemed effective as of the original expiration date."

WPCA will continue to update membership on emergency regulations and closures that affect the precast manufacturing industry.

Please click the link below to view NCCCO's memo for extensive details related to multiple aspects of NCCCO crane testing and certification.

NCCCO Memo