To be clear, OSHA's jurisdiction involves employees and employers only - not the public. Those "regulations" regarding the mandates for the public to wear masks are part of the local government's pandemic protocols and are enforced by the local authorities. Businesses can be fined by the county, city, or state, depending on the regulations and enforcement. The individual office can have requirements for the public to wear masks as part of the overall pandemic guidelines. They only thing they can do if a patient refuses to wear a mask is to deny service.
You are welcome and thank you for your service. Medical/dental is my wheelhouse. Things are never as simple as they may appear to be and people's perceptions do not necessarily reflect all sides to an issue. I pray you get your surgery and it all goes well with you - with or without a mask.
OSHA is just an excuse for these idiots. They don’t even have an enforcement policy in our state but muh OSHA. It’s either compliant morons or pro-covid activists.
OSHA only applies to employment and not the public. Mask enforcement in businesses that interact with with public are under local jurisdictions as part of their pandemic protocol mandates. Fines that happen during a mask mandate are from the local authorities and is enforced by them. OSHA cannot fine a business owner for a member of the public not wearing a mask - OSHA only gets involved if it involves an employee. As far as I am aware of, employment mask requirements are the decision of an employer and not part of any regulation by OSHA for non-heath care workers. Health care workers that require PPE as a function of the job must be provided that protection equipment by the employer - masks, gloves, gowns, respirators, shields, scrubs, etc. The employer must also insure its proper use.
The Federal government has tried to avoid making mandates incumbent upon the public - something I am not sure they can legally do. That is why they have handed that dirty work over to the state and private businesses.
That's great. Hats off to you. It starts with one business at a time.
Where I live things have been semi-tyrannical. Not quite as bad as CA. But definitely not as unrestricted and FL, TX, and SD. Health care has a whole additional layer of scrutiny piled on just because of the nature of the business.
More and more health care is controlled by corporate entities. That means the BS rolls down hill from a corporate ivory tower by individuals with business degrees instead of licenses in health care. I know of privately owned practices, some of the few left, that are not requiring masks as long as the local mandates are removed. Corporately owned practices however, don't get to make their own rules and have had to keep the masks for the public per the corporate dictators. While the mandates are in force, businesses where I live busted by the mask hall monitors could face fines anywhere from a couple thousand dollars upwards to 50K in the case of health care practices - and that is for a first offense.
Dental practices are still struggling from the lockdowns last year because they stayed open for emergency care only - they financially took in the shorts. They were promised Covid aide and most never received a dime. The last thing they can afford is to get hit with a government fine not to mention attention from the State Dental Board. A state licensing board only exists to protect the public in it's jurisdiction over a practitioner's license. Other than initial issuance of the license and renewal, interaction with a state licensing board is usually never good. One Karen picking up the phone and placing a call to complain can cause all kinds of grief.
To be clear, OSHA's jurisdiction involves employees and employers only - not the public. Those "regulations" regarding the mandates for the public to wear masks are part of the local government's pandemic protocols and are enforced by the local authorities. Businesses can be fined by the county, city, or state, depending on the regulations and enforcement. The individual office can have requirements for the public to wear masks as part of the overall pandemic guidelines. They only thing they can do if a patient refuses to wear a mask is to deny service.
Ah interesting thanks for the education
You are welcome and thank you for your service. Medical/dental is my wheelhouse. Things are never as simple as they may appear to be and people's perceptions do not necessarily reflect all sides to an issue. I pray you get your surgery and it all goes well with you - with or without a mask.
Good response. Own a business and have never required employees or clients to wear masks.
OSHA is just an excuse for these idiots. They don’t even have an enforcement policy in our state but muh OSHA. It’s either compliant morons or pro-covid activists.
OSHA only applies to employment and not the public. Mask enforcement in businesses that interact with with public are under local jurisdictions as part of their pandemic protocol mandates. Fines that happen during a mask mandate are from the local authorities and is enforced by them. OSHA cannot fine a business owner for a member of the public not wearing a mask - OSHA only gets involved if it involves an employee. As far as I am aware of, employment mask requirements are the decision of an employer and not part of any regulation by OSHA for non-heath care workers. Health care workers that require PPE as a function of the job must be provided that protection equipment by the employer - masks, gloves, gowns, respirators, shields, scrubs, etc. The employer must also insure its proper use.
The Federal government has tried to avoid making mandates incumbent upon the public - something I am not sure they can legally do. That is why they have handed that dirty work over to the state and private businesses.
That's great. Hats off to you. It starts with one business at a time.
Where I live things have been semi-tyrannical. Not quite as bad as CA. But definitely not as unrestricted and FL, TX, and SD. Health care has a whole additional layer of scrutiny piled on just because of the nature of the business.
More and more health care is controlled by corporate entities. That means the BS rolls down hill from a corporate ivory tower by individuals with business degrees instead of licenses in health care. I know of privately owned practices, some of the few left, that are not requiring masks as long as the local mandates are removed. Corporately owned practices however, don't get to make their own rules and have had to keep the masks for the public per the corporate dictators. While the mandates are in force, businesses where I live busted by the mask hall monitors could face fines anywhere from a couple thousand dollars upwards to 50K in the case of health care practices - and that is for a first offense.
Dental practices are still struggling from the lockdowns last year because they stayed open for emergency care only - they financially took in the shorts. They were promised Covid aide and most never received a dime. The last thing they can afford is to get hit with a government fine not to mention attention from the State Dental Board. A state licensing board only exists to protect the public in it's jurisdiction over a practitioner's license. Other than initial issuance of the license and renewal, interaction with a state licensing board is usually never good. One Karen picking up the phone and placing a call to complain can cause all kinds of grief.