N95 Respirator Shortage Prompts New OSHA Fit-Test Guidance

Coronavirus-induced shortages of N95 respirators have led federal workplace safety regulators to temporarily set aside a requirement for annual respirator fit testing.

As long as employers make a “good faith effort” to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s respiratory protection standard (29 C.F.R. 1910.134) and adhere to agency guidance, OSHA won’t cite employers for violations of the annual respirator fit testing mandate the agency announced late Wednesday.

The exception expires once the public health crisis ends, OSHA said.

Employers still need to conduct initial fit tests when workers are issued respirators for the first time, the ...