While most states have classified energy workers as “essential,” the industry has also sought priority access to testing and personal protective equipment for the most critical workers — but only after meeting the needs of frontline health care workers. This secondary priority would help industry monitor and mitigate the potential spread of the virus by these mission-critical workers. Vaccinated workers must continue to follow all state COVID-19 protocols, including mask requirements, social distancing requirements, and hygiene guidelines. The other 23 states (including Washington, D.C.) that have issued large work orders have developed their own lists of people who must continue to work under stay-at-home orders. States, which often use CISA guidelines as a starting point, have added and subtracted essential categories of workers and sectors, depending on what suits them best. For example, in some states, workers who support religious organizations and churches are considered essential, while in others, workers who support the cannabis industry are given the essential designation. There are a number of important areas that overlap between federal policies and basic state work orders, including, but not limited to: aThis includes workers who provide these services outside of permanent employment (e.g., road workers). Some of these workers work on the front lines, with gas and electricity utilities in particular required to enter homes and businesses that could expose workers to the virus. Others, such as the limited number of qualified control room operators, work in small teams that manage the safe and reliable flow of gas and electricity across large grids. If one member of a team is compromised, the entire team could be compromised. Given the expertise required to perform these functions, contagion within this subset of the workforce poses a serious threat to reliability. In some hard-hit areas, power grid operators have taken the drastic step of housing these workers on-site to further reduce exposure to the virus. All workers who are part of the 2.1 million farms, 935,000 restaurants and more than 200,000 registered food manufacturing, processing and storage facilities are considered essential by the U.S.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). For farm workers and those working on the production side of the food system, this meant continuing to work to feed the land. States that formed their own designations of essential employees largely adhered to CISA guidelines, but tended to be slightly more specific in the list of specific activities they considered essential. For example, Montana`s essential labor ordinance listed a number of hyper-specific businesses that the state deems essential to its food and agriculture systems, including production bakeries, licensed cannabis growers, and pet food producers. Kansas is another example of a state that has delved deeper into big business, including workers who make or maintain farm equipment and those who make or distribute agricultural products, such as seeds or chemicals. The interactive map allows users to click on a green report to view state guidelines for key workers. While this list can be useful in classifying workforce populations, other considerations may also be considered in COVID-19 vaccine prioritization decisions. For example, racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in many large industries, which can contribute to racial and ethnic health disparities related to COVID-19. Jurisdictions may wish to consider the distribution of labor in these industries when prioritizing vaccine allocation. Does your job qualify you as a front-line essential worker or as another essential worker? Here are the occupations of each group, as recommended by CPIA: Mutual assistance personnel, which may include workers from outside the state or local jurisdiction In March, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued guidelines on critical workforce for critical infrastructure, which at least 20 states have fully adopted.
Another 21 states and Washington, D.C., have developed their own definitions of key workers. While these definitions can vary widely, all include the energy sector. Workers who support the energy sector, regardless of the energy source, system segment or infrastructure in which they participate, or who are necessary to monitor, operate, develop and maintain the reliability, safety, environmental, physical health and cybersecurity of the energy system, including the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. At least two states offer financial assistance to pay for child care for key workers. At least 20 states have adopted federal guidelines from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security`s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on key workers. The guidelines describe the following retail workers, among others, as materials: In addition to DHS guidance, energy industry representatives and federal government officials have spoken out in favor of including energy workers in state designations. In particular, the focus was on “mission essential workers” – a limited pool of highly skilled workers whose expertise was deemed necessary for the continued reliable operation of energy systems. These workers include those who operate power plants, transmission and distribution system control rooms, and military field workers who maintain and repair electricity and natural gas networks. The chemical sector – made up of a complex global supply chain – transforms various raw materials into various products essential to modern life. Based on the product manufactured, the industry can be divided into five main segments, each with different characteristics, growth dynamics, markets, new developments and themes: basic chemicals; Speciality; agrochemicals; Pharmaceuticals; Consumer goods.
In 2015, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a Transportation Systems Sector-Specific Plan. This report describes how the risk management framework is being implemented given the unique characteristics and risk landscape of the transportation sector. Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, these workers have continued to perform essential activities. §Some small subcategories of these NAICS groups are not considered significant under CISA v4.0: This preliminary list identifies “significant workers” as those who perform a range of operations and services in industries critical to ensuring the continuity of essential functions in the United States (U.S.). Essential workers were originally described by the United States. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): “Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce: Ensuring Community and National Resilience in COVID-19 Response,” (Version 4.0; August 18, 2020)external symbol. This list maps CISA guidelines to industry codes and standard titles for ease of use. Connecticut is moving into the next phase of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, with key workers in a number of sectors, including manufacturing, among eligible groups. The state is now accepting registrations for vaccination appointments from people 75 years of age or older and plans to expand registration to the rest of Phase 1b in the coming week. All but five states – New York, Massachusetts, Washington, New Mexico and Vermont – considered the stockpiles non-essential. “What we are providing to governors and health officials is an evidence-based framework that will address this limited supply of vaccines that we have at this point,” said Jose Romero, president of ACIP and also secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services.
at the meeting at which the group made the recommendations.
