COVID-19 Information and Guidance for the Workplace


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While national and local government health agencies in the U.S. and Canada are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by continuing social distancing and expanding testing, some local governments are beginning phased, limited, and regulated reopenings of workplaces, public spaces and businesses, and government services. 

Health experts have shown that there is a higher risk of COVID-19 transmission and infection in indoor settings, including office spaces, schools, and industrial worksites. Effective measures for controlling COVID-19 transmission and infection in these settings include providing necessary personal protective equipment to individuals as well as administrative controls (“change the way people work” and interact in a hazardous environment) and engineering controls (“isolate people from the hazard”): see the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety’s (NIOSH) Hierarchy of Controls for occupational hazards

Health authorities continue to urge the public to cooperate, take recommended and required precautions, and help mitigate the impact in their communities and minimize the harm to the most vulnerable. While older adults and people with underlying medical conditions [CDC] are at higher risk of infection and death, the U.S. CDC has warned that "COVID-19 can result in severe disease among persons of all age” [Johns Hopkins Medicine].

Personal hygienic practices for minimizing the risk of COVID-19 transmission and infection are vitally important: see the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s COVID-19 page for general guidance that includes a list of practices to minimize exposure risks. 

As the U.S. and Canada continue to be under federal pandemic emergency conditions, "social distancing" to limit the transmission of the virus remains a key strategy. Aggressive social distancing includes wide-scale implementation of telework and limited or no office and business occupancy, conducting public events and meetings remotely, suspending school and college classes, and limiting contact in public settings. See this factsheet on social distancing [PDF]from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department.

The U.S. CDC and the Public Health Agency of Canada are asking individuals to facemarks in pbulic settings where physical distancing is not possible and in instances where there is a higher risk COVID-19 transmission. State/provincial and local governments, as well as public transit agencies and places of public accommodations may also require individuals to wear facemasks for the sake of public safety.

NOTE:We encourage IFPTE members and locals to review the AFL-CIO's document that explains appropriate use and limitations of respirators, masks, and face shields [PDF] 


AFL-CIO and Canadian Labour Congress Resources on COVID-19

IFPTE Local Union Resources and Statements on COVID-19

  • National Association of Immigration Judges/Judicial Council 2: Immigration Judges, Prosecutors and Attorneys Call for the Nationwide Closure of All Immigration Courts - Joint statement from NAIJ, AFGE Local 511, and American Immigration Lawyers Association calling for the emergency closure of the Immigration Courts throughout the U.S.

  • Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions (ESC/IFPTE Local 20): COVID-19 Updates and Resources - Resources from the employer and from coalition unions, as well as links to public health resources

  • IFPTE Local 21: Organizing Against COVID-19 - Local 21's statement and demands from public sector employers in response to the ongoing health emergency

  • Nonprofit Professional Employees Association/IFPTE Local 70: NPEU President to Nonprofit Managers: Move All of Your Staff to Remote Work - NPEU's statement calls on managers in the nonprofit sector to put their responsibility to public health and to their employees first by implementing telework and enabling nonprofit workers to practice social distancing.

  • The Society of United Professionals/IFPTE Local 160: A Message from President Scott Travers - The Society’s communication to members directs members to contact local union representatives, lists public health agency resources, a call for solidarity and aid for vulnerable people in the community.

  • TEAM/IFPTE Local 161: A COVID-19 Message from TEAM - As staff at TEAM shift to teleworking remotely, the Local’s staff update members on their operating status and on Bell holding off its downsizing under the current circumstances.

Workers Rights to a Safe Workplace

Under Canadian and U.S. law all employers have a "general duty" to provide a safe workplace for their employees. This includes existing standards for workers rights and employer responsibility that protect workers from retaliation for raising concerns about workplace health and safety.
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS): OH&S Legislation in Canada - Three Rights of Workers

Unemployment, Health Care, Sick Leave, Family Leave, and Student Debt

For U.S. Federal Employees - Guidance on COVID-19

For Essential and Critical Service Employees, and Defense Industrial Base Employees - Guidance on CONVID-19

General Workplace Settings - Health and Safety Information

U.S. NIH: NIH Study Validates Decontamination Methods For Re-Use of N95 Respirators - Issued April 15, 2020. Note: decontamination of single-use disposable respirators is a crisis-capacity measure and limited to reuse of up to three times after vaporized hydrogen peroxide treatment decontamination prodecures. This is not a standard practice and not a substitute for adequate supply of respirators.

Healthcare and Frontline Settings - Health and Safety Information

Factsheets, Posters, and General Information

State and Provincial Public Health Resources and Response to COVID-19

In the U.S. and Canada, state and provincial governments have been at the forefront of the response to COVID-19 outbreaks and containment in local settings. For a comprehensive list of U.S. state government responses to COVID-19 can be found on the National Governors Association website.

Combating Xenophobic and Racist Responses to COVID-19

IFPTE joins with unions, public health agencies, and working people throughout Canada, the U.S., and the rest of the world in urging the public to reject any stigmatization, scapegoating, racism, or xenophobia towards any Asian populations and communities in the midst of the pandemic.

IFPTECOVID-19, PPE