Workplace occupational health is important for both employers and employees. Following Philadelphia workplace health guidelines will help employers avoid compliance issues and create a safer and healthier workplace environment. By assisting with identifying and mitigating workplace hazards, Philadelphia occupational health regulations help reduce the risk of accidents and injuries. This often results in fewer employee absences, fewer workers' compensation claims, more productivity, and greater workplace efficiency.
Philadelphia occupational health regulations also ensure a proper work environment for employees. Following these important regulations helps to promote an employee's overall health and well-being. Having access to Philadelphia occupational health services can also help employees receive certain screenings, vaccinations, and other benefits, conveniently and at no cost.
First adopted in 1949, the Pennsylvania Public School Code Section 1418 requires all employees and contractors providing services to schools to submit to a pre-employment medical examination. This examination must include regulated testing for tuberculosis. In 1975, the state of Pennsylvania adopted subsection 201.22, which required staff at long-term care nursing facilities to undergo mandatory tuberculosis testing. The law also outlined required actions for those potentially carrying TB. The purpose of both these laws was to protect employees from contracting and potentially spreading this dangerous and highly infectious disease, ultimately creating a safer workplace.
More recently, the City of Philadelphia has enacted mandates to help protect its residents against the COVID-19 virus. In 2020, the City of Philadelphia Department of Public Health issued an emergency regulation requiring all healthcare workers in the city as well as all college and university faculty and staff to complete the COVID-19 vaccination series. On November 19, 2021, the city also released a memo requiring all city employees and certain city contractors to comply with COVID-19 vaccination requirements. Both sets of regulations allow for medical and religious exemptions.
