OTA Dispatch Issue 2, 2021

23 www.ortrucking.org Issue 2 | 2021 assuming Gov. Brown removes her COVID-19 executive order at the end of June. (The following information was current as of early June when the Dispatch went to print. For the latest updates, please visit the Emergency Page on the OTA website.) Permanent Rule Particulars The biggest issue for OTA and many others was the lack of a sundown date. Here’s what the permanent rule had to say: As the purpose of this rule is to address the COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon workplaces, OR-OSHA will repeal the permanent rule when it is no longer necessary to address that pandemic. Because it is not possible to assign a specific time for that decision, OR-OSHA will consult with the Oregon OSHA Partnership Committee, the Oregon Health Authority, the two Infectious Disease Rulemaking Advisory Committees, and other stakeholders as circumstances change to determine when all or part of the rule can be appropriately repealed. The first of these discussions will take place no later than July 2021, and they will continue every two months until the rule has been repealed. In making determinations about when to repeal all or part of the rule, OR-OSHA and its stakeholders will consider indicators and other information such as (but not limited to) executive orders issued by the governor, guidance issued by the Oregon Health Authority and the Centers for Disease Control, infection rates (including the rate of spread of COVID-19 variants), test positivity rates, and vaccination rates, as well as indicators of severity such as hospitalizations and fatalities. The end date is only one of the concerns for Oregon employers. Below is a summary of some of the key areas. Mask, face covering, or face shield requirements. Each employer must ensure that all individuals (including employees, part-time workers, temporary laborers, customers, vendors, patrons, contractors, etc.) at the workplace or other premises subject to the employer’s control wear a mask, face covering, or face shield as source control. Consistent with that guidance, it is strongly recommended but not required, that individuals wear a mask or face covering as source control rather than relying upon a face shield alone. OR-OSHA expects Oregon Health Authority mask, face covering, and face shield requirements to evolve as circumstances of the pandemic change (for example, as more Oregonians are vaccinated). Oregon OSHA will issue interpretive guidance or make changes to these rules as appropriate to provide employers with accurate and complete information about what is required. Note: Just