OSHA ISSUES
MEMORANDUM ON ENFORCEMENT
The Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia wishes to inform all members that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued this Memorandum on Discretion in Enforcement when Considering an Employer’s Good Faith Efforts During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic, which will take effect immediately and remain in effect until further notice.
Because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, OSHA understands that some employers may face difficulties complying with OSHA standards due to the ongoing health emergency.  Widespread business closures, restrictions on travel, limitations on group sizes, facility visitor prohibitions, and stay-at-home or shelter-in-place requirements may limit the availability of employees, consultants, or contractors who normally provide training, auditing, equipment inspections, testing, and other essential safety and industrial hygiene services.  During the course of an inspection, OSHA Area Offices will assess an employer’s efforts to comply with standards that require annual or recurring audits, reviews, training, or assessments, and evaluate whether the employer has made good faith efforts to comply with applicable OSHA standards and, in situations where compliance was not possible, to ensure that employees were not exposed to hazards from tasks, processes, or equipment for which they were not prepared or trained.  The guidance is intended to be time-limited to the current public health crisis http://supplement.reviews/.
Please review the memorandum in its entirety for additional detail on these provisions.  For more information about COVID -19 please visit OSHA’s COVID-19 webpage and CDC’s COVID-19 webpage.

 

 

 

THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
NEEDS OUR SUPPORT

The Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia, in its response to a call for assistance from the American Red Cross, wishes to convey this important information to all members and companies who may wish to help.

The American Red Cross is in constant need for blood, platelets and AB Elite plasma.  As of April 12, nearly 19,000 Red Cross blood drives have been canceled across the country due to coronavirus concerns, resulting in some 530,000 fewer blood donations.  However, companies or groups of companies can schedule their own blood  drive by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS or be making application on-line at this link: https://rcblood.org/impact to set up an event.

IOGAWV encourages you to consider assisting the American Red Cross in this time of critical need.