California employers are required to establish and implement an Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) to protect employees from all worksite hazards, including infectious diseases. The following guidance and recommendations for childcare programs on how to update their IIPPs to include information on employee training and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace has been issued by Cal/OSHA.
Employee Training on COVID-19
Childcare program administrators should train employees on the following:
- Information related to COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including how the illness is spread, how to prevent its spread, symptoms, and when to seek medical assistance for sick children or employees:
◦ How COVID-19 is spread.
◦ Preventing the spread of COVID-19 if you are sick.
◦ Symptoms of COVID-19 and when to seek medical attention.
- The importance of frequent handwashing with soap and water (or using hand sanitizer where soap and water are not available), including:
◦ When employees arrive at the facility and before they leave the facility. ◦ Before and after handling food, feeding a child, or eating. ◦ Before and after using the toilet, changing a diaper, or helping a child use the bathroom (also wash the child’s hands after helping the child use the bathroom or changing their diaper). ◦ After helping a child wipe their nose or mouth or tending to a cut or sore.
◦ After working in sandboxes and similar children’s play areas.
◦ Before and after giving medicine to a child.
◦ After handling wastebaskets or garbage.
- Methods to avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Limiting close contact with others as much as possible and maintaining more than six feet of separation.
- Coughing and sneezing etiquette.
- Safely using cleaners and disinfectants on surfaces and objects, which includes:
◦ The hazards of the cleaners and disinfectants available for use at the worksite.
◦ Wearing personal protective equipment (such as gloves).
◦ Ensuring cleaners and disinfectants are used in a manner that does not endanger
employees or children at the facility.
- The importance of staying home if they have a frequent cough, sneezing, fever, or difficulty
breathing.
- The employer’s plan and procedures to follow when children become sick at the facility.
- The employer’s plan and procedures to protect employees from COVID-19 illness.