Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard:

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1): The employer does not furnish employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees, in that employees are working in close proximity to each other and customers and are exposed to SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), the virus that causes COVID-19. a) Liberty Tax Services located at 175 Lewis Street, Lynn, MA: On or about February 9, 2021, through March 29, 2021, and continuing thereafter, the employer did not develop and implement timely and effective measures to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The employer requires employees, such as tax preparers, to work within 6 feet of each other and customers for multi-hour shifts while not wearing face coverings. The employer prohibits employees and customers from wearing face coverings in the workplace despite a state-wide mask order that mandates the business to require employees and customers to wear masks. The workplace is not served by adequate means of ventilation. The employer fails to implement administrative or engineering controls such as: enhanced cleaning and disinfecting, pre-shift screening of employees, social distancing, physical barriers, mechanical ventilation, and other methods to reduce the potential for person-to-person transmission of the virus, such as portable HEPA filtration units. The combination of these workplace conditions and high rates of COVID-19 in the geographic area places employees at an increased risk of contracting the virus. Among other methods, feasible and acceptable means of abatement for this hazard include;