Coronavirus and Economic Crisis

The coronavirus and economic crises have created an urgent, unprecedented challenge for CEOs and corporate leaders to put purpose-driven leadership and stakeholder capitalism into practice. Companies face extraordinary operational and financial challenges, and with every industry and business tested in unique ways, the course of action may be different for each. Many employees are working from home and working around family demands.

There is no doubt this is a troubling time for all of us. Construction is a lagging indicator in that it is not usually the first hit. It’s other industries, services and products and demand for these that are leading indicators of our economy. Designers were the first hit as projects were halted and postponed or cancelled. Layoffs and staff reductions occurred quickly. Contractors, laborers, field teams from both the owners and associates had to quickly put in place safety measures to continue their work.

Our owners are proud of the work by the local contractors in continuing their work and timelines as best as possible. Owners are also optimistic there will be a pipeline of work. This pandemic did jolt our industry and the world, however, it didn’t reduce the needs and demands. In some ways it has increased it.

The SLCCC is here and we are still the forum for bringing together the buyers of construction and the providers together for leading our region for better days. There will be better days. We hope some of links and information will be useful to you in the days ahead. If you have other links or information to share with the SLCCC please send to info@slccc.net. Thank you and know we appreciate you!

OSHA’s primary resource is the OSHA COVID-19 Official Webpage. This page is being updated routinely and we encourage you to review it frequently.  Recent guidance released and housed on this page includes:

• Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 (Spanish)
• Prevent Worker Exposure to Coronavirus (Spanish)
• Worker Exposure Risk to COVID-19 (Spanish)
• Temporary Guidance on the enforcement of OSHA’s Respiratory Protection standard:

o   March 14 Memo: on Healthcare Respiratory Protection Annual Fit-Testing for N95 Filtering Facepieces During the COVID-19 Outbreak

o   April 3 Memo: on Respiratory Protection Equipment Certified Under Standards of Other Countries or Jurisdictions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

o   April 3 Memo: on Respiratory Protection and the N95 Shortage Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

• NEW Short video: Higher Risk Jobs Need Extra Protections to Keep Workers Safe
• NEW Poster: Steps All Workplaces Can Take to Reduce the Risk of Exposure to Coronavirus (Spanish)
• Visit OSHA’s Publications webpage for other useful workplace safety information.

The Wage and Hour Division’s (WHD) primary resource is the WHD COVID-19 Official Webpage

• Departmental national dialogue on the implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) The ideas and comments gathered from this dialogue will inform compliance assistance guidance, resources, and tools, as well as outreach approaches, that assist employers and employees in understanding their responsibilities and rights under the FFCRA. The dialogue will remain open until the close of business on April 10.

CDC’s primary resource is the CDC COVID-19 Official Web Page. This page is being updated routinely and we encourage you to review it frequently.  Recent guidance released and housed on this page includes:

• CDC COVID-19 Guidance Documents
• Strategies to Optimize PPE and Equipment (Healthcare)

o   Decontamination and Reuse of Filtering Facepiece Respirators using Contingency and Crisis Capacity Strategies (Healthcare)

o   Strategies for Optimizing of N95 Respirators (Healthcare)

• Resources for Businesses and Employers

o   Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers

o   Cleaning and Disinfecting Building Facility

• Cases in U.S.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) primary resource is the WHO COVID-19 Webpage.

Contact Information:

Maryanne Martin, MS, CSP, CHST
Compliance Assistance Specialist
OSHA – St. Louis Area Office
1222 Spruce Street, Room 9.104
St. Louis, MO  63103
Phone (314) 425-4261 ext. 248
Fax (314) 425-4289
www.osha.gov