SOH Worker Safety Order
SOH Worker Safety Order
SOH Worker Safety Order
COVID-19 is a threat to the public’s health, for which the Secretary of Health may
order general control measures, including, but not limited to, closure, isolation, and
quarantine. This authority is granted to the Secretary of Health pursuant to Pennsylvania
law. See Section 5 of the Disease Prevention and Control Law, 35 P.S. §§ 521.1, 521.5;
sections 2102 and 2106 of the Administrative Code of 1929, 71 P.S. §§ 532, 536; and the
Department of Health’s (Department’s) regulations at 28 Pa. Code §§ 27.60-27.68 (relating
to disease control measures; isolation; quarantine; movement of persons subject to isolation
or quarantine; and release from isolation and quarantine). Particularly, the Secretary has
the authority to take any disease control measure appropriate to protect the public from the
spread of infectious disease. See 35 P.S. § 521.5; 71 P.S. §§ 532(a), 1402(a); 28 Pa. Code
§ 28.60.
Accordingly, on this date, April 15, 2020, to protect the public from the spread of
COVID-19, I hereby order:
A. A business that is authorized to maintain in-person operations, other than health
care providers, pursuant to the Orders that the Governor and I issued on March
19, 2020, as subsequently amended, shall implement, as applicable, the
following social distancing, mitigation, and cleaning protocols:
(3) establish protocols for execution upon discovery that the business has
been exposed to a person who is a probable or confirmed case of COVID-
19, including:
ii. If the employee becomes sick during the work day, the
person should be sent home immediately. Surfaces in the
employee’s workspace should be cleaned and disinfected.
Information on other employees who had contact with the
ill employee during the time the employee had symptoms
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and 48 hours prior to symptoms should be compiled.
Others at the workplace with close contact within 6 feet of
the employee during this time would be considered
exposed;
(4) stagger work start and stop times for employees when practicable to
prevent gatherings of large groups entering or leaving the premises at the
same time;
(5) provide sufficient amount of space for employees to have breaks and
meals while maintaining a social distance of 6 feet, while arranging
seating to have employees facing forward and not across from each other
in eating and break settings;
(7) limit persons in employee common areas (such as locker or break rooms,
dining facilities, training or conference rooms) at any one time to the
number of employees that can maintain a social distance of 6 feet;
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(8) conduct meetings and trainings virtually (i.e., by phone or through the
internet). If a meeting must be held in person, limit the meeting to the
fewest number of employees possible, not to exceed 10 employees at one
time, and maintain a social distance of 6 feet;
(10) provide masks for employees to wear during their time at the business,
and make it a mandatory requirement to wear masks while on the work
site, except to the extent an employee is using break time to eat or drink,
in accordance with the guidance from the Department of Health and the
CDC. Employers may approve masks obtained or made by employees in
accordance with Department of Health guidance;
(11) ensure that the facility has a sufficient number of employees to perform
all measures listed effectively and in a manner that ensures the safety of
the public and employees;
(12) ensure that the facility has a sufficient number of personnel to control
access, maintain order, and enforce social distancing of at least 6 feet;
(13) prohibit non-essential visitors from entering the premises of the business;
and
(14) ensure that all employees are made aware of these required procedures by
communicating them, either orally or in writing, in their native or
preferred language, as well as in English or by a methodology that allows
them to understand.
B. In addition to the above, the following measures apply to businesses, other than
health care providers, that serve the public within a building or a defined area:
(1) where feasible, businesses should conduct business with the public by
appointment only and to the extent that this is not feasible, businesses must
limit occupancy to no greater than 50% of the number stated on the
applicable certificate of occupancy at any given time, as necessary to reduce
crowding in the business, and must maintain a social distance of 6 feet at
check-out and counter lines, and must place signage throughout each site to
mandate social distancing for both customers and employees;
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(2) based on the building size and number of employees, alter hours of business
so that the business has sufficient time to clean or to restock or both;
(3) install shields or other barriers at registers and check-out areas to physically
separate cashiers and customers or take other measures to ensure social
distancing of customers from check-out personnel, or close lines to maintain
a social distance between of 6 feet between lines;
(5) designate a specific time for high-risk and elderly persons to use the
business at least once every week if there is a continuing in-person
customer-facing component;
(6) require all customers to wear masks while on premises, and deny entry to
individuals not wearing masks, unless the business is providing medication,
medical supplies, or food, in which case the business must provide
alternative methods of pick-up or delivery of such goods; however,
individuals who cannot wear a mask due to a medical condition (including
children under the age of 2 years per CDC guidance) may enter the premises
and are not required to provide documentation of such medical condition;
(7) in businesses with multiple check-out lines, only use every other register,
or fewer. After every hour, rotate customers and employees to the
previously closed registers. Clean the previously open registers and the
surrounding area, including credit card machines, following each rotation;
(8) schedule handwashing breaks for employees at least every hour; and
(9) where carts and handbaskets are available for customers’ use, assign an
employee to wipe down carts and handbaskets before they become available
to each customer entering the premises.
This Order shall take effect immediately and be enforceable as of 8:00 p.m. on April
19, 2020.
________________________________
Rachel Levine, MD
Secretary of Health