Last updated: 3/11/2021
Staying Safe at Work in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Mask mandate removed, but that doesn’t change employers’ responsibility to protect workers
1) What are my basic health and safety rights at work?
All employees are protected by health and safety laws, regardless of immigration status.
Federal health and safety laws apply to most employees of private companies, as well as federal employees. Your rights under these laws include the right to:
a safe workplace free from known health and safety hazards.
speak up about health and safety concerns without being retaliated against.
be trained in a language you understand.
be provided necessary safety gear, such as protective masks.
be protected from hazardous chemicals used for cleaning and disinfection.
request an OSHA inspection, and speak to the inspector.
For more information, visit OSHA Worker Rights and Protections.
In Texas, state and local government employees are covered by state health and safety laws.
2) What safety requirements must my employer follow?
In Texas, the Department of State Health Services provides updates on Opening the State, including the minimum recommended health protocols for Texas. Employers must make at least a good-faith effort to comply with these protocols, which are intended to protect workers.
3) Is my employer required to provide masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE)?
Under existing OSHA standards, your boss must provide you with personal protective equipment (PPE) – gloves, goggles, face masks, face shields, and respiratory protection – when they are needed to keep you safe while working. The types of PPE your employer must provide you during the pandemic depends on the risk of being infected or spreading the virus while working. Your employer is responsible for evaluating workplace risks, identifying and providing appropriate PPE, training you in the use of the PPE, maintaining and replacing faulty PPE, and periodically reviewing and updating the effectiveness of the PPE. With few exceptions, your employer must pay for the required PPE.
Although Texas has lifted its statewide mask mandate, employers are still responsible for protecting workers and may require other protective measures at work such as social distancing.
4) What can I do if I think my workplace is unsafe or my employer is breaking the safety rules?
Not all of these steps will be needed in every situation. Talk to a lawyer if you can. TRLA attorneys can advise workers who have questions about unsafe working conditions.
Document safety issues. Take time to review the safety guidelines discussed above, especially the safety guidelines for your industry. To the extent you can, document your employer’s policies that break the safety rules. Save evidence of your employer breaking the safety rules or asking you to break the safety rules – text messages, emails, etc. Take notes of the time, place, and witnesses. Even if your employer is following these guidelines or the guidelines don’t apply to your workplace, you can still raise concerns or ask for changes to protect you and your co-workers.
Tell your employer. If you have safety concerns, you should give your employer a chance to fix the problem, if you can, by making a clear request of specific changes or concerns in a way that you can document – by text message, email, in writing, or in front of a witness. Take notes of your employer’s response to your request. If you raise concerns to your employer with a co-worker or on behalf of co-workers, then in most cases you will have more legal protection against retaliation.
Report safety violations to the authorities. When making a report, write down who you talk to and ask questions such as: Who can I follow up with? and What actions will this agency take?
Report to OSHA
You can file a confidential complaint with OSHA which enforces federal health and safety laws.
Any employee, including temporary workers, applicants for employment, former employees, or their authorized representatives may file a whistleblower complaint, including reports that your workplace is unsafe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To file a complaint, you can contact OSHA by phone, fax, internet, or in-person (the pandemic may affect whether you can go in person).
To contact OSHA by phone, call 800-321OSHA (800-321-6742). For a complaint form and other ways to file a complaint, visit the OSHA website. Inspections may be delayed due to COVID-19.
Report to the Division of Workers’ Compensation:
If you worked in Texas, you should also report unsafe conditions to the Texas Department of Insurance – Division of Workers’ Compensation’s (TDI-DWC’s) Safety Violations Hotline: 1-800-452-9595. This is a bilingual, confidential 24-hour toll-free hotline that allows Texans to report unsafe working conditions.
Visit the Safety Violations Hotline for more information, including how to report violations online.
Report to the local health department.
Some cities and county health departments are taking reports from workers about unsafe working conditions and doing on-site inspections. You could attempt to report safety issues to your city or county health department. Visit their websites for contact information.
5) Can I refuse to work under unsafe or unhealthy conditions?
You have the right to refuse to work if your employer is putting you in danger of death or serious physical harm. The risk of contracting COVID-19 may justify refusing to work depending on the circumstances. However, under federal law, you are expected to first ask your employer to correct the danger and give the company a chance to correct it.
If you are concerned about a condition at work, it is best to talk to an attorney before refusing a task to make sure you would be legally protected.
Note: if you are in a unionized workplace, you may have additional rights to refuse work. Talk to your union.
6) What if my employer retaliates against me for reporting unsafe or unhealthy conditions?
It is illegal for your employer to discipline, demote, fire, or threaten you, cut your pay, or retaliate in other ways because you:
complain to your employer, orally or in writing, about health and safety issues;
ask questions or express concerns about workplace safety and health;
complain to OSHA or other government agencies about unhealthy or unsafe working conditions;
request safety-related documents;
participate in an OSHA inspection; or
exercise any of your other rights under federal health and safety law.
If your employer retaliates against you for reporting health and safety issues:
Don’t be silenced. You can report retaliation and possibly get your job back, lost pay, or other damages.
File a retaliation complaint with OSHA. You must file your OSHA retaliation complaint within 30 days of when you were retaliated against. Complaints can be in any language and don’t have to be in any particular form. Any applicant for employment, employee, former employee, or their authorized representative, including temporary workers and supervisors, may file a complaint. To file your complaint, you can call OSHA at 800-321-OSHA (6742), visit your closest regional office (though the coronavirus may affect whether you can go in person), or file a complaint online.
File a retaliation complaint with the NLRB. When workers raise concerns as part of or for a group, they have additional protections against retaliation under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), a federal law that protects most workers when they speak up together or organize at work. Farmworkers, state and local government employees, supervisors, independent contractors, and some domestic workers are not protected by this law. The deadline to file a retaliation complaint under the NLRA is six months. Visit the NLRA site for more information about your rights.
If you work in Texas and your employer retaliated against you after you called the TDI-DWC safety hotline, you may have the right to sue your employer in court to try to get your job back, plus damages. Your deadline to file this type of claim is 90 days from when you were retaliated against. Talk to a lawyer.
You may also have the right to unemployment benefits if you lost your job as a result of retaliation.
7) What happens if my boss retaliates against me for raising issues about a mask or other personal protective equipment (PPE)?
Complaints made to your employer or publicly about lack of necessary PPE are protected under OSHA’s whistleblower protections, meaning you can make a whistleblower complaint to OSHA if your boss retaliates against you. You must make the complaint within 30 days of the retaliation.
If you are a healthcare worker in Texas, you may also be protected from retaliation under Texas law. See below for more information on healthcare worker protections.
8) I am a healthcare worker in Texas. What are my rights if my employer retaliates against me for raising issues related to health and safety?
In addition to federal protections, healthcare workers in Texas are afforded special protections under the law. For example:
Nurses have the right to report unsafe patient conditions, refuse to do something they believe violates the law or creates unsafe patient conditions, or advise another nurse of their rights.
Employees at hospitals, mental health facilities, and treatment centers have the right to report violations of law and unsafe patient conditions.
Employees at nursing homes and certain other health facilities must report instances of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of patients to the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services.
If you are a healthcare worker who has exercised any of the rights listed above, it is illegal for your employer to retaliate against you by suspending, terminating, or discriminating against you. If you have been retaliated against, you have the right to sue your employer to get your job back and obtain money damages.
Nurses and employees at hospitals, mental health facilities, and treatment centers must sue or report to the proper authorities within 180 days of the violation or discovery of the violation. Employees at nursing homes and certain other health facilities must take action within 90 days.
What other steps can I take to protect myself at work from COVID-19?
There are steps you can take to protect yourself at work. For several helpful fact sheets on this topic see: