OSHA Gives Direction on COVID-19 Employee Screenings

Words: Jeff Buczkiewicz

Recently, OSHA announced that employers taking documented temperature screenings and/or asking employees to fill out written symptom surveys (as recommended by the CDC and in some cases required by local or states governments) must comply with the Access Rule. What does this mean? This means those records must be saved by the employer for the duration of the employment of each employee plus 30 years. As a result, the MCAA (as part of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition through the CISC law firm, is sending a letter appealing this clarification and questioning the validity and applicability for the Access Rule. 

 

This ruling would encourage contractors to either not do screenings or not to record the screenings, which is counter to the intent of doing them. The MCAA will continue to give updates on this issue and others as they develop. Make sure you monitor your newsletters for details.

Beyond the Block: Aesthetic Innovations in CMU Construction
August 2026

Concrete masonry units (CMUs) have long been a mainstay of construction. They are well known as a “tried and true” material with a long history of high-strength structural performance, affordability, ease of assembly, and a long lifecycle. CMU constructio

The Most Overlooked Profit Center on Your Job Site
August 2026

The real cost of equipment ownership isn't what you pay on day one. It's what happens over the years that follow. The purchase price of a new mortar mixer, grout pump, material handling system, or masonry saw is only part of the investment. What happens

Installation Starts Before the First Course
August 2026

Some of the most expensive masonry installation problems begin long before crews arrive onsite. By the time a project reaches the field, many coordination decisions have already been made. Dimensional conflicts, congested reinforcement, specialty materia

Designing for Performance: Key Considerations for Efficient, Durable Masonry Projects
August 2026

A successful masonry project starts well before the first stone is set. The craftsmanship on site matters, of course, but many of the decisions that shape the final result are made much earlier—during design, detailing, and material selection. Those choic