"Employees have the right to safe and healthy workplaces," Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Loren Sweatt has stated. "Any worker who believes that their employer is retaliating against them for reporting unsafe working conditions should contact OSHA immediately."

Illegal acts of retaliation can include terminations, demotions, denials of overtime or promotion, or reductions in pay or hours, according to the agency.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to help ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.

The mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

To that end, OSHA recently issued a new poster listing steps all workplaces can take to reduce the risk of exposure to the coronavirus. The poster highlights ten infection prevention measures every employer can implement to protect workers' safety and health during the coronavirus pandemic.

The safety measures listed on the poster include:

• routinely cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and equipment with Environmental Protection Agency-approved cleaning chemicals from List N or that have label claims against the coronavirus;
• using a drive-through window or offering curbside pick-up;
• recommending that workers wear masks over their nose and mouth to prevent them from spreading the virus; and
• practicing sensible social distancing, which could include opening only every other cash register, temporarily moving workstations to create more distance and installing plexiglass partitions between workstations.

The new poster is available on the website for download in English, or Spanish.

OSHA has also published Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, a document aimed at helping workers and employers learn about ways to protect themselves and their workplaces during the ongoing pandemic.

OSHA is frequently posting updates in regards to the coronavirus, so visit their website  www.osha.gov for other useful workplace safety information and Disease Control and Prevention.