Pennsylvania Construction Industry Reopening Date Now May 1, 2020
Pennsylvania's construction industry now has a reopening date of Friday, May 1, 2020, subject to the following conditions:
- All businesses and employees in the construction industry must adhere to the Secretary of Health’s order providing for business safety measures, which requires that every person present at a worksite wear masks/face coverings unless they are unable for medical or safety reasons and requires that businesses establish protocols upon discovery that the business has been exposed to a person who is a probable or confirmed case of COVID-19.
- All construction projects must maintain proper social distancing and provide hand washing and sanitizing stations for workers, as well as cleaning and sanitizing protocols for high-risk transmission areas. Businesses must identify a “pandemic safety officer” for each project or worksite, or, for large scale construction projects, for each contractor at the site.
- Residential construction projects may not permit more than four individuals on the job site at any time, not including individuals who require temporary access to the site and are not directly engaged in the construction activity.
- For non-residential or commercial projects, the number of individuals permitted on enclosed portions of a project varies depending on the size of the enclosed site. Commercial construction firms should also strongly consider establishing a written safety plan for each work location containing site-specific details for the implementation of this guidance to be shared with all employees and implemented and enforced by the pandemic safety officer.
- Contractors performing work at the direction of the commonwealth, municipalities or school districts should defer to those public entities to determine what projects may continue.
- Local governments may elect to impose more stringent requirements than those contained in the guidance and in such instances, businesses must adhere to those more stringent requirements.
- Local officials have been tasked with ensuring that construction businesses are aware that this guidance exists and notifying businesses that a complaint of noncompliance was received.
To read guidance issued for the construction industry and other businesses by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, see below:
OSHA's Guidance on Preparing Workplaces fo COVID-19 is available here.
Businesses that have questions about whether this guidance applies to them may email the Department of Labor and Industry at RA-LIBOIS-BUILDINGS@pa.gov.
If you have any questions, please reach out to any member of our Construction Practice Group (view all attorneys here).
About Post & Schell's Construction Practice Group
Post & Schell, P.C.'s Construction, Government Contracts & Surety Law Practice Group represents a wide range of public and private entities, including owners, contractors, heavy highway contractors, subcontractors, construction managers, architects, engineers, construction trade associations, sureties, international reinsurers, and suppliers, involved in construction projects nationally. Learn More.