ARTICLE · 10 SEPTEMBER 2020

Working During The Pandemic—Current Occupational Safety Regulations In Germany

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart

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Employers may want to implement this rule, as it concretizes the binding regulations on occupational safety on the basis of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

GermanyEmployment and HR

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On August 10, 2020, the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS)) published the SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Safety and Health Regulation (SARS-CoV-2 Arbeitsschutzregel). For the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, this regulation, which became effective on August 20, 2020, specifies the requirements for occupational safety to reduce the risk of infection at the workplace. In doing so, BMAS is applying the presumed period of the national epidemic situation according to Section 5 of the Protection Against Infection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz (IfSG)).

Employers may want to implement this rule, as it concretizes the binding regulations on occupational safety on the basis of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (Arbeitsschutzgesetz). Principally, employers are free to choose the way in which they implement the regulations, but when choosing alternative solutions, they must ensure that they achieve at least an

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