Resource for small Businesses

OSHA provides safety and health resources specifically designed for small businesses. A multitude of free resources are available right on the website at osha.gov. These include brochures that discuss OSHA coverage, safety and health programs, and a small business handbook – updated for 2021. You can also find the required posters to download and display, and assistance with recordkeeping and reporting.

If you are unsure of where your facility stands in relation to OSHA standards, you may want to take advantage of the no-cost, confidential on-site consultation program.
This consultation service is separate from enforcement and does not result in penalties or citations.

Primarily targeted for smaller businesses, employers can find out about potential hazards at their workplace, improve programs that are already in place, and even
qualify for a one-year exemption from routine OSHA inspections.

Consultants from state agencies or universities work with employers to identify workplace hazards, provide advice for compliance with OSHA standards, and
assist in establishing and improving safety and health programs. Your only obligation is to correct serious job safety and health hazards—a commitment which you are
expected to make prior to an actual inspection visit and carry out in a timely manner.

OSHA Issues Updated Guidance for All Industries 

This guidance is intended to help employers and workers by helping them identify COVID-19 exposure risks to workers who are unvaccinated or otherwise at risk even if they are fully vaccinated (e.g., if they are immunocompromised).

This guidance is also intended to help employers and workers who are located in areas of substantial or high community transmission, who should take appropriate steps to prevent exposure and infection regardless of vaccination status.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that infections in fully vaccinated people (breakthrough infections) happen in only a small proportion of people who are fully vaccinated, even with the Delta variant. Moreover, when these breakthrough infections occur, they tend to be mild, reinforcing that vaccines are an effective and critical tool for bringing the pandemic under control.

However, preliminary evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people who do become infected with the Delta variant can be infectious and can spread the virus
to others.

This evidence has led CDC to update recommendations
for fully vaccinated people to reduce their risk of
becoming infected with the Delta variant and potentially
spreading it to others, including by:

• wearing a mask in public indoor settings in areas
of substantial or high transmission

• choosing to wear a mask regardless of level of
transmission, particularly if individuals are at risk or
have someone in their household who is at increased
risk of severe disease or not fully vaccinated

• getting tested 3 – 5 days following a known exposure
to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
and wearing a mask in public indoor settings for 14
days after exposure or until a negative test result.