OSHA 4045-06 2020

Guidance on 

Returning to Work

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical 

content, for research and review purposes only. For the most up-to-date information, consult Protecting Workers Guidance.
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

“To assure safe and healthful working conditions for 

working men and women; by authorizing enforcement 

of the standards developed under the Act; by assisting 

and encouraging the States in their efforts to assure 

safe and healthful working conditions; by providing 

for research, information, education, and training in 

the field of occupational safety and health.”

This guidance is not a standard or regulation, and 

it creates no new legal obligations. It contains 

recommendations as well as descriptions of 

mandatory safety and health standards. The 

recommendations are advisory in nature, 

informational in content, and are intended to 

assist employers in providing a safe and healthful 

workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act 

requires employers to comply with safety and health 

standards and regulations promulgated by OSHA 

or by a state with an OSHA-approved state plan. In 

addition, the Act’s General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)

(1), requires employers to provide their employees 

with a workplace free from recognized hazards likely 

to cause death or serious physical harm.

Material contained in this publication is in the public 

domain and may be reproduced, fully or partially, without 

permission. Source credit is requested but not required.

This information will be made available to sensoryimpaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 

693-1999; teletypewriter (TTY) number: 1-877-889-5627. 
Guidance on 

Returning to Work

U.S. Department of Labor

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSHA 4045-06 2020
Contents

Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Planning for Reopening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Applicable OSHA Standards and Required 

Protections in the Workplace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Employer Frequently Asked Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

For More Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

OSHA Assistance, Services, and Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

OSHA Regional Offices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

How to Contact OSHA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Appendix A — Applicable OSHA Standards 

and Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
GUIDANCE ON RETURNING TO WORK

3

Overview

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 

has developed the following guidance to assist employers and 

workers in safely returning to work and reopening businesses 

deemed by local authorities as “non-essential businesses” during 

the evolving Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. 

Employers can use this guidance to develop policies and 

procedures to ensure the safety and health of their employees.

This guidance is intended to supplement the U.S. Department 

of Labor and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 

previously developed Guidance on Preparing Workplaces 

for COVID-19 and the White House’s Guidelines for Opening 

up America Again. It focuses on the need for employers to 

develop and implement strategies for basic hygiene (e.g., 

hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfection), social distancing, 

identification and isolation of sick employees, workplace 

controls and flexibilities, and employee training. This guidance 

is based on the application of traditional infection prevention 

and industrial hygiene practices to a phased approach for 

reopening, as the White House guidelines describe. 

Reopening should align with the lifting of stay-at-home or 

shelter-in-place orders and other specific requirements of the 

Federal Government and state, local, tribal, and/or territorial 

(SLTT) governments across the United States, as well as with 

public health recommendations from the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal requirements 

or guidelines. Employers should continually monitor federal, 

State, territorial, tribal, and local government guidelines for 

updated information about ongoing community transmission 

and mitigation measures, as well as for evolving guidance on 

disinfection and other best practices for worker protection. 

Where applicable, these guidelines may supplement state- or 

locality-specific information and re-opening requirements. 

The CDC provides the latest information about the COVID-19 

pandemic at: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov.
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

4

OSHA provides specific information for workers and employers 

about the COVID-19 pandemic at: www.osha.gov/coronavirus.

The National Governors Association provides a state-bystate summary of public health criteria in reopening plans at: 

www.nga.org/coronavirus-reopening-plans.

Planning for Reopening

All employers should monitor SLTT health department 

communications to understand how the communities in 

which their workplaces are located are progressing through 

the reopening phases identified in the Guidelines for Opening 

up America Again. The guidelines provide general principles 

for relaxing restrictions that were put in place to slow the 

spread of COVID-19. Employers should continue to consider 

ways to utilize workplace flexibilities, such as remote work 

(i.e., telework), and alternative business operations to provide 

goods (e.g., curbside pickup) and services to customers.

During all phases of reopening, employers should implement 

strategies for basic hygiene (e.g., hand hygiene; cleaning and 

disinfection), social distancing, identification and isolation 

of sick employees, workplace controls and flexibilities, and 

employee training that are appropriate for the particular phase.

In general, during:

■ Phase 1: Businesses should consider making telework 

available, when possible and feasible with business 

operations. For employees who return to the workplace, 

consider limiting the number of people in the workplace 

in order to maintain strict social distancing practices. 

Where feasible, accommodations (i.e., flexibilities based 

on individual needs) should be considered for workers at 

higher risk of severe illness, including elderly individuals 
GUIDANCE ON RETURNING TO WORK

5

and those with serious underlying health conditions. 

Businesses should also consider extending special 

accommodations to workers with household members at 

higher risk of severe illness. Non-essential business travel 

should be limited.

■ Phase 2: Businesses continue to make telework available 

where possible, but non-essential business travel can 

resume. Limitations on the number of people in the 

workplace can be eased, but continue to maintain moderate 

to strict social distancing practices, depending on the type 

of business. Continue to accommodate vulnerable workers 

as identified above in Phase 1.

■ Phase 3: Businesses resume unrestricted staffing of 

work sites.

Changing outbreak conditions in each community will directly 

affect workers’ exposure risks to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that 

causes COVID-19. For all phases of reopening, employers 

should develop and implement policies and procedures that 

address preventing, monitoring for, and responding to any 

emergence or resurgence of COVID-19 in the workplace or 

community. Employers should continue these practices to the 

extent possible to help prevent COVID-19 from emerging or 

resurging in their workplace. Such a resurgence could lead to 

increases in infected and sick employees, the increased need 

for contact tracing of individuals who visited a workplace, 

enhanced cleaning and disinfection practices, or even a 

temporary closure of the business.

Based on evolving conditions, employers’ reopening plans 

should address:
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

6

Guiding Principle Examples of How to Implement

Hazard assessment, 

including practices to 

determine when, where, 

how, and to what sources 

of SARS-CoV-2 workers 

are likely to be exposed 

in the course of their 

job duties. 

 Assess all job tasks performed by 

or job categories held by employees 

to determine which job tasks or job 

categories involve occupational 

exposure. This can be a desktop 

assessment to maintain social 

distancing practices.

 Consider, among other things, 

exposures from members of the public 

(e.g., customers, visitors) with whom 

workers interact, as well as exposures 

from close contact with coworkers in 

the workplace.

 Consider current outbreak conditions in 

the community.

Hygiene, including 

practices for hand 

hygiene, respiratory 

etiquette, and cleaning 

and disinfection.

 Provide soap, water, and paper towels 

for workers, customers, and visitors 

to wash their hands, and encourage 

frequent and proper (for at least 20 

seconds) handwashing.

 Provide hand sanitizer with at least 60% 

alcohol and encourage workers to use 

it frequently when they cannot readily 

wash their hands.

 Identify high-traffic areas, as well as 

surfaces or items that are shared or 

frequently touched, that could become 

contaminated. Target them for enhanced 

cleaning and disinfection using EPAregistered disinfectants and adherence 

to CDC guidance for controlling the 

spread of COVID-19. 
GUIDANCE ON RETURNING TO WORK

7

Guiding Principle Examples of How to Implement

Social distancing, 

including practices for 

maximizing to the extent 

feasible and maintaining 

distance between all 

people, including workers, 

customers, and visitors. 

Six feet of distance is a 

general rule of thumb, 

though social distancing 

practices may change as 

changes in community 

transmission of SARSCoV-2 and other criteria

prompt communities 

to move through the 

reopening phases.

 Limit business occupancy to a number 

of workers/customers that can 

safely be accommodated to allow for 

social distancing.

 Demarcate flooring in six-feet zones in 

key areas where workers, customers, 

or visitors would ordinarily congregate 

(i.e., restrooms, check-out lines, areas 

with time clocks) to encourage people 

to keep appropriate social distance 

between themselves and others.

 Post signage reminding workers, 

customers, and visitors to maintain at 

least six feet between one another.

 Post directional signs in hallways/

corridors where the width restricts 

movement and limits social distancing.

Identification and 

isolation of sick 

employees, including 

practices for worker 

self-monitoring or 

screening, and isolating 

and excluding from the 

workplace any employees 

with signs or symptoms of 

COVID-19. 

 Ask employees to evaluate themselves 

for signs/symptoms of COVID-19 before 

coming to work, and to stay home if they 

are not well. (See the “Employer Frequently 

Asked Questions” on page 11.)

 Establish a protocol for managing 

people who become ill in the workplace, 

including details about how and where a 

sick person will be isolated (in the event 

they are unable to leave immediately) 

while awaiting transportation from 

the workplace, to their home or to 

a health care facility, and cleaning 

and disinfecting spaces the ill person 

has occupied to prevent exposure to 

other workers, customers, or visitors. 

Employers may need to collaborate with 

SLTT health officials to facilitate contact 

tracing and notification related to 

COVID-19 cases or possible exposures.
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

8

Guiding Principle Examples of How to Implement

Return to work after 

illness or exposure, 

including after workers 

recover from COVID-19 or 

complete recommended 

self-quarantine after 

exposure to a person with 

COVID-19.

 Follow CDC guidance for discontinuing 

self-isolation and returning to work after 

illness, or discontinuing self-quarantine

and monitoring after exposure, as 

appropriate for the workplace.

 Ensure workers who have been 

exposed to someone with COVID-19 

routinely monitor themselves or receive 

monitoring, including for signs and/or 

symptoms of potential illness, at work, 

in accordance with CDC guidance.

Controls, including 

engineering and 

administrative controls, 

safe work practices, 

and personal protective 

equipment (PPE) 

selected as a result of 

an employer’s hazard 

assessment.

 Select and implement appropriate 

engineering controls (e.g., physical 

barriers/shields to separate 

workers, enhanced ventilation), and 

administrative controls (e.g., staggering 

work shifts, limiting breakroom 

capacity, practicing social distancing, 

replacing in-person meetings with 

video-conference calls, ensuring 

workers wear appropriate face 

coverings, such as cloth face masks, 

to contain respiratory secretions), and 

providing and ensuring workers use 

appropriate PPE, identified through 

hazard assessments and in accordance 

with OSHA’s standards at 29 CFR 1910, 

Subpart I, and OSHA and CDC guidance 

on use of PPE. (Note: cloth face 

coverings are not PPE, because they 

protect other people from the wearer’s 

respiratory secretions, rather than 

protecting the wearer).
GUIDANCE ON RETURNING TO WORK

9

Guiding Principle Examples of How to Implement

Workplace flexibilities, 

including those concerning 

remote work (i.e., telework) 

and sick leave.

 Evaluate existing policies and, if needed, 

consider new ones that facilitate 

appropriate use of telework, sick or other 

types of leave, and other options that 

help minimize workers’ exposure risks.

 Communicate about workplace 

flexibilities, and ensure workers 

understand how to make use of 

available options (e.g., fatigue 

management).

Training, including 

practices for ensuring 

employees receive 

training on the signs, 

symptoms, and risk 

factors associated with 

COVID-19; where, how, 

and to what sources of 

SARS-CoV-2 employees 

might be exposed in the 

workplace; and how to 

prevent the spread of 

SARS-CoV-2 at work.

 Train workers in the appropriate 

language and literacy level about their 

risks of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, what 

the employer is doing to protect them, 

including site-specific measures, and 

how they can protect themselves.

 Train workers about wearing cloth face 

coverings in the workplace, including 

any employer policies related to their 

use and considerations for when 

cloth face coverings could cause or 

contribute to a workplace safety and 

health hazard.

 As required by OSHA standards for 

PPE, including respiratory protection, 

and consistent with OSHA and CDC

guidance, train workers how to put on, 

use, and take off PPE; how to clean, 

maintain, store, and dispose of PPE; 

and what the limitations of the PPE are. 

(Note: As described above, cloth face 

coverings are not PPE, because they 

protect other people from the wearer’s 

respiratory secretions, rather than 

protecting the wearer).
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

1 0

Guiding Principle Examples of How to Implement

Anti-retaliation, including 

practices for ensuring 

that no adverse or 

retaliatory action is taken 

against an employee 

who adheres to these 

guidelines or raises 

workplace safety and 

health concerns.

 Ensure workers understand their 

rights to a safe and healthful work 

environment, who to contact with 

questions or concerns about workplace 

safety and health, and prohibitions 

against retaliation for raising workplace 

safety and health concerns.

 Ensure workers understand their right 

to raise workplace safety and health 

concerns and seek an OSHA inspection 

under the Occupational Safety and 

Health Act.

 Ensure supervisors are familiar with 

workplace flexibilities and other human 

resources policies and procedures, as 

well as with workers’ rights in general.

The examples presented in the table are intended to help 

employers understand each of the guiding principles that 

should go into their plans for resuming operations and 

reopening facilities. However, these examples are not an 

exhaustive list of controls that may be appropriate, necessary, 

or feasible, nor do all examples apply to every employer. 

The interagency Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for 

COVID-19 and the OSHA COVID-19 webpage provide additional 

recommendations for addressing and implementing these 

guiding principles within the workplace, including how the 

implementation of the principles varies by workers’ exposure 

risk levels. Regardless of the types of infection prevention and 

control measures employers incorporate into their reopening 

plans, they should consider ways to communicate about those 

measures to workers, including through training (as described 

above) and providing a point of contact for any worker 

questions or concerns.
GUIDANCE ON RETURNING TO WORK

1 1

Applicable OSHA Standards and 

Required Protections in the Workplace

All of OSHA’s standards that apply to protecting workers 

from infection remain in place as employers and workers 

return to work.

While covered employers are always responsible for 

complying with all applicable OSHA requirements, the 

agency’s standards for PPE (29 CFR 1910.132), respiratory 

protection (29 CFR 1910.134), and sanitation (29 CFR 1910.141) 

may be especially relevant for preventing the spread of 

COVID-19. Where there is no OSHA standard specific to SARSCoV-2, employers have the responsibility to provide a safe 

and healthful workplace that is free from serious recognized 

hazards under the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the 

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970.

Appendix A of this booklet outlines some of OSHA’s 

general industry rules for hazard and exposure assessment, 

implementation programs, workplace controls, training, and 

recordkeeping, as well as prohibitions on retaliation, applicable 

to protecting workers from occupational exposure to SARSCoV-2. Consult OSHA resources for other sectors not covered 

by the appendix, including construction, shipyard employment, 

and longshoring and marine terminals.

Employer Frequently Asked Questions1

Can employers conduct work site SARS‐CoV-2 

testing?

Yes. Employers may consider implementing strategies to reduce 

risks to the safety and health of workers and workplaces from 

COVID-19 that include conducting SARS-CoV-2 testing. Neither 

the OSH Act nor OSHA standards prohibit employer testing for 

SARS-CoV-2, if applied in a transparent manner applicable to all 

employees (i.e., non-retaliatory).

1. Note that these FAQs speak to Federal OSHA standards. Other federal and SLTT laws may apply.
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

1 2

Because of the limitations of current testing capabilities, 

employers should act cautiously on negative SARS-CoV-2 

test results. Employers should not presume that individuals 

who test negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection (i.e., the virus 

that causes COVID-19) present no hazard to others in the 

workplace. Employers should continue to implement the basic 

hygiene, social distancing, workplace controls and flexibilities, 

and employee training described in this guidance in ways that 

reduce the risk of workplace spread of SARS-CoV-2, including 

by asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic individuals.

Can employers conduct work site temperature 

checks or other health screening?

Yes. Neither the OSH Act nor OSHA standards prohibits 

employer screening for COVID-19, if applied in a transparent 

manner applicable to all employees (i.e., non-retaliatory). 

Employers may consider implementing strategies to reduce 

risks to the safety and health of workers and workplaces from 

COVID-19 that include conducting daily in-person or virtual 

health checks (e.g., symptom and/or temperature screening, 

questionnaires, self-checks and self-questionnaires). Any such 

screening should consider ways to maintain confidentiality, as 

required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Because people infected with SARS-CoV-2 can spread the 

virus even if they do not have signs or symptoms of infection, 

temperature screening may play a part in a comprehensive 

program to monitor worker health during the pandemic, but 

may have limited utility on its own. In many workplaces, 

temperature screening efforts are likely to be most beneficial 

when conducted at home by individual workers, with 

employers’ temperature screening plans relying on workers’ 

self-monitoring and staying home if they have a fever or other 

signs or symptoms of illness, rather than employers directly 

measuring temperatures after workers arrive at the work site. 

Consider implementing such programs in conjunction with 

sick leave policies that encourage sick workers, including those 

whose self-monitoring efforts reveal a fever or other signs or 

symptoms of illness, to stay at home. 
GUIDANCE ON RETURNING TO WORK

1 3

Regardless of whether or how employers ultimately decide 

to implement temperature checks or other health screening 

measures, they should act cautiously on results. Employers 

should not presume that individuals who do not have a fever or 

report experiencing other symptoms of COVID-19 do not have 

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Employers should 

continue to implement the basic hygiene, social distancing, 

workplace controls and flexibilities, and employee training 

described in this guidance in ways that reflect the risk of 

community spread of COVID-19, including from asymptomatic 

and pre-symptomatic individuals, in the geographical area 

where the workplace is located.

What OSHA requirements must an employer 

follow when conducting health screening, 

temperature checking, or COVID-19 testing?

If an employer implements health screening or temperature 

checks and chooses to create records of this information, those 

records might qualify as medical records under the Access to 

Employee Exposure and Medical Records standard (29 CFR 

1910.1020). The employer would then be required to retain 

these records for the duration of each worker’s employment 

plus 30 years and follow confidentiality requirements. As 

explained above, employers need not make a record of 

temperatures when they screen workers, but instead may 

acknowledge a temperature reading in real-time. In addition, 

temperature records do not qualify as medical records under 

the Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records 

standard unless they are made or maintained by a physician, 

nurse, or other health care personnel, or technician.

Additionally, personnel administering COVID-19 tests, inperson temperature checks, or other in-person health 

screening must be protected from exposure to sources of 

SARS-CoV-2, including asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic 

workers who might be infected but not know it. Protection of 

screening and testing workers should incorporate standard 

and appropriate transmission-based precautions and should 

follow the hierarchy of controls, including appropriate 
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

1 4

engineering and administrative controls, safe work practices, 

and PPE. See the CDC’s General Business Frequently Asked 

Questions for more information about protecting screening 

workers. While diagnostic testing that involves saliva or nasal/

oral cavity swabbing would not typically fall under the scope 

of the Bloodborne Pathogens standard (29 CFR 1910.1030), any 

testing that involves drawing blood would. 

Is there guidance on how to address the 

various health screening and medical issues 

associated with COVID-19 to avoid violating 

other labor, disability, and employment laws? 

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) 

has established guidance regarding What You Should Know 

About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and 

Other EEO Laws. Employers are encouraged to review this 

guidance as they develop the health screening, workplace 

policies, return to work plans, and consider other issues that 

may arise as they reopen their workplaces and plan to continue 

operations during the COVID 19 public health emergency. 

Additional information about labor, disability, and employment 

laws is available on the Summary of the Major Laws of the 

Department of Labor webpage.

When can employees who have had COVID-19, 

or illness consistent with COVID-19, return 

to work?

The CDC provides guidance about the discontinuation of 

isolation for people with COVID-19 who are not in healthcare 

settings. This guidance may be adapted by state and local 

health departments to respond to rapidly changing local 

circumstances. 
GUIDANCE ON RETURNING TO WORK

1 5

How do I know if employees need personal 

protective equipment (PPE)?

Employers must conduct a hazard assessment in accordance 

with OSHA’s PPE standard (29 CFR 1910.132), if applicable, 

to determine the PPE requirements for their unique work 

site. Employers subject to this standard must determine 

if PPE (such as gloves, surgical masks, and face shields) is 

necessary for employees to work safely after considering 

whether engineering and administrative controls and safe work 

practices (such as social distancing or the use of cloth face 

coverings) can effectively mitigate identified hazards.

Employers should consider modifying worker interaction—

both among coworkers and with customers, visitors, or other 

members of the general public—in order to reduce the need 

for PPE, especially in light of potential equipment shortages. 

If PPE is necessary to protect workers from exposure to 

SARS-CoV-2 during particular work tasks when other controls 

are insufficient or infeasible, or in the process of being 

implemented, employers should either consider delaying those 

work tasks until the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure subsides or 

utilize alternative means to accomplish business needs and 

provide goods and services to customers. If PPE is needed, 

but not available, and employers cannot identify alternative 

means to accomplish business needs safely, the work tasks 

must be discontinued. Consider CDC guidance for conserving 

and extending filtering facepiece respirator supplies in nonhealthcare sectors.

Cloth face coverings are not PPE. However, they can be worn to 

reduce the spread of potentially infectious respiratory droplets 

from the wearer to others, including when the wearer has the 

virus but does not know it. This is known as source control. 

Employers may consider requiring cloth face coverings to 

be worn in the workplace as an administrative control. More 

information about cloth face coverings is available from 

OSHA’s COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions webpage.
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

1 6

OSHA’s PPE Safety and Health Topics page provides additional 

information about PPE selection, provision, use, and other related 

topics: www.osha.gov/SLTC/personalprotectiveequipment.

For More Information

Federal, State, territorial, tribal, and local government agencies 

are the best source of information in the event of an infectious 

disease outbreak, such as COVID-19. Staying informed about 

the latest developments and recommendations is critical, since 

specific guidance may change based upon evolving outbreak 

conditions in the geographic area where the business is located. 

Below are several recommended websites to access the most 

current and accurate information: 

■ OSHA website: www.osha.gov

■ Whistleblower Protection Program website: 

www.whistleblowers.gov

■ U.S. Department of Labor COVID-19 webpage: 

www.dol.gov/coronavirus

■ CDC website: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus

■ National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

website: www.cdc.gov/niosh

OSHA Assistance, Services, and Programs

OSHA has a great deal of information to assist employers in 

complying with their responsibilities under OSHA law. Several 

OSHA programs and services can help employers identify 

and correct job hazards, as well as improve their safety and 

health program.

Establishing a Safety and Health Program

Safety and health programs are systems that can substantially 

reduce the number and severity of workplace injuries and 

illnesses, while reducing costs to employers. 

Visit www.osha.gov/safetymanagement for more information.
GUIDANCE ON RETURNING TO WORK

1 7

Compliance Assistance Specialists

OSHA compliance assistance specialists can 

provide information to employers and workers about OSHA 

standards, short educational programs on specific hazards 

or OSHA rights and responsibilities, and information on 

additional compliance assistance resources. 

Visit www.osha.gov/complianceassistance/cas or call 1-800-

321-OSHA (6742) to contact your local OSHA office.

No-Cost On-Site Safety and Health Consultation 

Services for Small Business

OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program offers no-cost and 

confidential advice to small and medium-sized businesses in 

all states, with priority given to high-hazard worksites. On-Site 

consultation services are separate from enforcement and do 

not result in penalties or citations. 

For more information or to find the local On-Site Consultation 

office in your state, visit www.osha.gov/consultation, or call 

1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

Under the consultation program, certain exemplary employers 

may request participation in OSHA’s Safety and Health 

Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). Worksites that 

receive SHARP recognition are exempt from programmed 

inspections during the period that the SHARP certification is valid.

Cooperative Programs

OSHA offers cooperative programs under which businesses, 

labor groups and other organizations can work cooperatively 

with OSHA. To find out more about any of the following 

programs, visit www.osha.gov/cooperativeprograms. 

Strategic Partnerships and Alliances

The OSHA Strategic Partnerships (OSP) provide the opportunity 

for OSHA to partner with employers, workers, professional or 

trade associations, labor organizations, and/or other interested 
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

1 8

stakeholders. Through the Alliance Program, OSHA works with 

groups to develop compliance assistance tools and resources 

to share with workers and employers, and educate workers and 

employers about their rights and responsibilities.

Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP)

The VPP recognize employers and workers in the private sector 

and federal agencies who have implemented effective safety 

and health programs and maintain injury and illness rates below 

the national average for their respective industries.

Occupational Safety and Health Training

OSHA partners with 26 OSHA Training Institute Education 

Centers at 37 locations throughout the United States to 

deliver courses on OSHA standards and occupational safety 

and health topics to thousands of students a year. For more 

information on training courses, visit www.osha.gov/otiec.

OSHA Educational Materials

OSHA has many types of educational materials to assist employers 

and workers in finding and preventing workplace hazards. 

All OSHA publications are free at www.osha.gov/publications

and www.osha.gov/ebooks. You can also call 1-800-321-OSHA 

(6742) to order publications.

Employers and safety and health professionals can sign-up for 

QuickTakes, OSHA’s free, twice-monthly online newsletter with 

the latest news about OSHA initiatives and products to assist 

in finding and preventing workplace hazards. To sign up, visit 

www.osha.gov/quicktakes.
GUIDANCE ON RETURNING TO WORK

1 9

OSHA Regional Offices

Region 1

Boston Regional Office

(CT*, ME*, MA, NH, RI, VT*)

JFK Federal Building

25 New Sudbury Street, Room E340 

Boston, MA 02203

(617) 565-9860 (617) 565-9827 Fax 

Region 2

New York Regional Office

(NJ*, NY*, PR*, VI*)

Federal Building

201 Varick Street, Room 670

New York, NY 10014

(212) 337-2378 (212) 337-2371 Fax

Region 3

Philadelphia Regional Office

(DE, DC, MD*, PA, VA*, WV)

The Curtis Center

170 S. Independence Mall West, Suite 740 West

Philadelphia, PA 19106-3309

(215) 861-4900 (215) 861-4904 Fax

Region 4 

Atlanta Regional Office

(AL, FL, GA, KY*, MS, NC*, SC*, TN*)

Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center

61 Forsyth Street, SW, Room 6T50

Atlanta, GA 30303

(678) 237-0400 (678) 237-0447 Fax

Region 5

Chicago Regional Office

(IL*, IN*, MI*, MN*, OH, WI)

John C. Kluczynski Federal Building 

230 South Dearborn Street, Room 3244

Chicago, IL 60604

(312) 353-2220 (312) 353-7774 Fax
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

2 0

Region 6

Dallas Regional Office

(AR, LA, NM*, OK, TX)

A. Maceo Smith Federal Building 

525 Griffin Street, Room 602

Dallas, TX 75202

(972) 850-4145 (972) 850-4149 Fax

Region 7

Kansas City Regional Office

(IA*, KS, MO, NE)

Two Pershing Square Building

2300 Main Street, Suite 1010

Kansas City, MO 64108-2416

(816) 283-8745 (816) 283-0547 Fax

Region 8

Denver Regional Office

(CO, MT, ND, SD, UT*, WY*)

Cesar Chavez Memorial Building

1244 Speer Boulevard, Suite 551

Denver, CO 80204

(720) 264-6550 (720) 264-6585 Fax

Region 9 

San Francisco Regional Office

(AZ*, CA*, HI*, NV*, and American Samoa, 

Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands)

San Francisco Federal Building 

90 7th Street, Suite 2650

San Francisco, CA 94103

(415) 625-2547 (415) 625-2534 Fax

Region 10

Seattle Regional Office

(AK*, ID, OR*, WA*)

Fifth & Yesler Tower

300 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1280

Seattle, WA 98104

(206) 757-6700 (206) 757-6705 Fax
GUIDANCE ON RETURNING TO WORK

2 1

*These states and territories operate their own OSHA-approved job safety 

and health plans and cover state and local government employees as well as 

private sector employees. The Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New 

York and Virgin Islands programs cover public employees only. (Private sector 

workers in these states are covered by Federal OSHA). States with approved 

programs must have standards that are identical to, or at least as effective as, 

the Federal OSHA standards.

Note: To get contact information for OSHA area offices, OSHA-approved state 

plans and OSHA consultation projects, please visit us online at www.osha.gov

or call us at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

How to Contact OSHA

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 

employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful 

workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to help ensure 

these conditions for America’s working men and women by 

setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education 

and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov or call 

OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), TTY 1-877-889-5627.

For assistance, contact us.

We are OSHA. We can help. 
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

2 2

Appendix A — Applicable OSHA Standards and 

Note: Specific paragraphs referenced in the table refer to the main provisions of the listed OSHA standards with which employers should be familiar. Other parts of these standards and additional standards not mentioned in the table may apply.

Personal 

Protective 

Equipment 

General 

Requirements, 

29 CFR 1910.132

Respiratory 

Protection

29 CFR 

1910.134

Sanitation, 

29 CFR 

1910.141

H

Comm

29 CF

Applies generally to potential and actual exposure(s) to

SARS-CoV-2 virus (a) (a) 

Chemical hazards (e.g., cleaning and disinfection)

(a) (a) 

Hazard/exposure assessment

Required, generally (d)(1) (d)(1)(i), (iii) 

Written requirements (d)(2) 

Implementation program

Required, generally (d)(1), (2) (c) 

Written requirements (d)(2) (c) Worker involvement (l) 

Controls Engineering 

controls

(a)(1)
GUIDANCE ON RETURNING TO WORK

2 3

Note: Specific paragraphs referenced in the table refer to the main provisions of the listed OSHA standards with which employers should be familiar. Other parts of these standards and additional standards not mentioned in the table may apply.

Personal 

Protective 

Equipment 

General 

Requirements, 

29 CFR 1910.132

Respiratory 

Protection

29 CFR 

1910.134

Sanitation, 

29 CFR 

1910.141

H

Comm

29 CF

Controls Administrative 

controls and safe work practices

PPE (a) (a), (d), 

(f), (g)

Housekeeping General 

cleaning

(a)(3)

Handwashing facilities with soap and running water

(d)

Training Required, generally (f)(1) (c), (k) 

Initial training (f)(1) (k)(3) 

Periodic training

(f)(3) (k)(5) 

In a language and format worker(s) can understand

(k)(2)

Covers use of PPE (e.g., donning and doffing)

(f)(1)(iii) (c) (h
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

2 4

Note: Specific paragraphs referenced in the table refer to the main provisions of the listed OSHA standards with which employers should be familiar. Other parts of these standards and additional standards not mentioned in the table may apply.

Personal 

Protective 

Equipment 

General 

Requirements, 

29 CFR 1910.132

Respiratory 

Protection

29 CFR 

1910.134

Sanitation, 

29 CFR 

1910.141

H

Comm

29 CF

Training Training must be 

effective (e.g., workers must demonstrate competency)

(f)(2) (k) 

Recordkeeping Maintenance 

of medical records 

(m) 

Respirator fit testing

(m)

Access by OSHA and/or NIOSH

Retaliation** Prohibitions 

against employer retaliation

* Note that 29 CFR 1910.1020 may apply to temperature records. Employers should evaluate the burdens and benefits of maintaining temperature qualify as medical records if made or maintained by a physician, nurse, or other health care personnel, or technician. If employers do not record wmade or maintained by a physician, nurse, or other health care personnel or technician, the mere taking of a temperature would not amount to a r** Section 11(c) of the OSH Act states: (1) No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed any complaint or institute

has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding or because of the exercise by such employee on behalf of himself or others of any 

(2) Any employee who believes that he has been discharged or otherwise discriminated against by any person in violation of this subsection m

the Secretary alleging such discrimination. Upon receipt of such complaint, the Secretary shall cause such investigation to be made as he that the provisions of this subsection have been violated, he shall bring an action in any appropriate United States district court against sujurisdiction, for cause shown to restrain violations of paragraph (1) of this subsection and order all appropriate relief including rehiring or 

(3) Within 90 days of the receipt of a complaint filed under this subsection the Secretary shall notify the complainant of his determination und
For more information:

Occupational

Safety and Health

Administration

www.osha.gov (800) 321-OSHA (6742)

U.S. Department of Labor