COVID-19 Situational Update & Resources
COVID-19 Situational Update & Resources
New CDC # for Public:
800-CDC-INFO
EMA is working closely with the U.S. Departments of Energy, Transportation, Small Business Administration (SBA), Homeland Security, the EPA and the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to mitigate any negative impact of the COVID19 coronavirus on energy marketers. The talks are a continuation of EMA’s ongoing emergency preparedness initiative to establish and maintain coordination between marketers and emergency response officials during declarations of emergency to ensure adequate fuel supply is available to consumers. EMA encourages you to notify EMA staff of any needs or concerns that you have so that we can communicate to the most efficient government employees to obtain the information or the help that you may need.
SBA Guidance & Loan Resources
Department of Transportation (DOT)
FMCSA Automatic Extension of Expiring CDLs, CLPs and Medical Certificates
The FMCSA has extended its waivers for renewal of CDL licensure, CDL learner’s permits and driver medical examinations and certificates that expired on or after March 1, 2020. The waiver is now extended through February 28, 2021. The FMCSA is also extending the waiver allowing state licensing agencies to not downgrade driver status due expiring or expired CDL licenses, permits, medical examinations and certificates through February 28, 2021. Drivers are only covered by the FMCSA waivers for CDL licenses and learner’s permit if their respective state licensing agency also adopts the waivers. The waiver for medical certificates and medical exams apply automatically. The waivers are not valid for CDL licenses, learner’s permits, and medical certificates expiring before March 1, 2020. The FMCSA waiver can be downloaded in the link below.
FMCSA Driver Hours of Service Waive
This is updated regularly – FMCSA Emergency Declaration Website
FMCSA for webpage for all emergency declarations and waivers related to the coronavirus.
US DOT COVID-19 Guidance for Drug and Alcohol Testing Requirements
The U.S. DOT has issued guidance for employers who may have difficulty conducting mandated federal drug and alcohol testing due the recent COVID-19 outbreak. Barriers to testing include unavailability of collection sites, breath alcohol technicians (BAT), medical review officers (MRO) and substance abuse professionals (SAP) caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidance provides employers with testing flexibility by recognizing COVID-19 as a possible barrier to testing. In some cases, missed tests must take place at a later date according to the guidance.
- Click here for more information.
State and Local Orders
- Comprehensive List of State and Local Orders This section is updated regularly.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
TSA Driver Hazmat Endorsements
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) did not accept EMA’s request to extend the waiver allowing states to recognize expired hazardous material endorsements (HME) beyond December 31, 2020. However, the good news is TSA is allowing drivers a grace period of 180 days to renew expired HMEs so long as they start the renewal process (submit information for TSA background check) within 60 days of the date their HME expired. For drivers who are currently operating with an expired HME, the date from which to measure the 60-day and 180-day grace periods is December 31, 2020, the date the TSA waiver expires. This means drivers with expired HMEs must start the renewal process no later than March 1, 2021 and obtain the HME renewal no later than June 29, 2021. Drivers may continue to operate under an expired HME during the renewal process.
While the TSA grace periods for HME renewal are not binding on state drivers licensing agencies, the TSA believes all states operating under the waiver will adopt the 60-day and 180-day grace periods for HME renewal. The 60-day and 180-day grace periods apply only to HMEs expiring after March 1, 2020 but no later than December 31, 2020. Drivers should check with their state licensing agencies for any possible variances in the HME renewal process.
Advisory Memorandum on Identification of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response
The DHS guidance is important to energy marketers because it contains recommendations for state governors to follow when deciding which businesses can stay open and operating during quarantines and other limitations of movement imposed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19.
Specifically, the DHS at EMA’s request included the Petroleum Industry category in the guidance to include workers involved in the downstream distribution of gasoline, diesel fuel, heating fuels and jet fuels as well as HVAC technicians for residential and commercial heating systems. These specific listings clarify that petroleum marketers and heating fuel businesses are essential operations that need to remain open and operating despite the imposition of any federal, state or local emergency lockdown or quarantine orders.
Click here for more information.
Employee Identification Templates
EMA has also developed two essential employee identification templates for petroleum marketers and heating fuel dealers to use if stopped by enforcement authorities in a locked down or restricted area. Click on the following links to download the templates:
Petroleum Marketer Essential Employee Identification Template – this DOCX file will download to your device
Heating Fuel Dealer Essential Employee Identification Template – this DOCX file will download to your device
TWIC Enrollment Centers – If applicants are planning to visit an TWIC enrollment center, please click here to determine if an enrollment center is open and for its hours of operation.
CDC
What are the new quarantine guidelines?
Local public health authorities determine and establish the quarantine options for their jurisdictions. CDC currently recommends a quarantine period of 14 days. However, based on local circumstances and resources, the following options to shorten quarantine are acceptable alternatives.
Quarantine can end after Day 10 without testing and if no symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring.
- Click here for additional information.
What should I do if an employee contracts the virus?
- Click here for CDC’s immediate guidance for disinfecting your facility if someone has COVID-19.
- Employees with confirmed cases of COVID-19 or a family member with a confirmed infection should notify their supervisor and refer to CDC guidance on how to conduct a risk assessment of their potential exposure as well as their guidance on how to plan and respond. The agency recommends that employers inform fellow employees of their possible exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace but keep the information confidential as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Employees exposed to a co-worker with confirmed COVID-19 should refer to CDC guidance to assess their potential exposure.
- CDC has downloadable flyers on the Do’s and Don’ts for Essential Workers and Implementing Safety Practices of Essential Workers Who May Have Been Exposed
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Coronavirus Tax Relief Information Website
The IRS has established a webpage to include all the available tax-related information. This page will be updated as more information is available.
Department of Labor (DOL)
Can a Company Require Employees to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine?
Employers need to understand the rules on mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for its workforce. While an employer can require its employees to get the vaccine before returning to work, several exceptions exist. The two major exceptions are for employees with ADA disabilities and employees with sincere religious beliefs. Employees represented by unions may also have additional protections.
- Read more from EMA’s employment lawyers website
- All Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) news, guidance and resources on the coronavirus
- Frequently asked questions about the coronavirus
- General guidance on controlling and preventing the coronavirus at work
- Guidance for employers on returning to work during the pandemic
- Guidance for employers on keeping workplaces safe during the pandemic
Wages, Hours and Leave
- Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) paid leave for workers
- Frequently asked questions about FFCRA paid leave for workers
- More resources on the coronavirus and wage, hour and leave laws
Company Coronavirus Protocol Template and Driver Guidance
EMA has been working to address a problem where some replacement drivers have not been allowed to receive on-site training to be carded for specific terminal facilities (which is usually allowed during disasters). In order to obtain terminal on-site training, it is especially important to do these things:
- Notify the terminal in advance so the request can be run up the chain for approval.
- Justify why this is needed, for example, the driver who normally pulls from the terminal is sick.
- Make certain the facility knows the replacement driver is an experienced driver who has loaded fuel at multiple other terminals or xx number of years.
Click here for a downloaded template for the EMA document for owners and managers to use in creating company protocols regarding COVID-19 to use internally and with business partners. In particular, the template can also be used with terminal operators who require such documentation in support of their own expanded protocols to protect their employees.
EMA and the National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC) also created a document that has overlap with much of the company template document for company owners and managers. However, this document is for a different audience, it is for truck drivers specifically. Based on feedback from EMA members and from FEMA, drivers are in need of clear guidance on how they should operate.
EPA Enforcement Discretion and Waivers
The U.S. EPA issued general enforcement discretion policy designed to address difficulties regulated parties may have maintaining certain routine compliance requirements due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Specifically, the U.S. EPA will not seek civil penalties for the following: Routine Monitoring and Reporting; Integrity Testing; Sampling; Lab analysis, Training and Certification.
- Click here for the EPA Enforcement Discretion Regulatory Alert
- Click here for state implementation of EPA enforcement discretion Regulatory Alert.
- Click here for template requesting state UST enforcement discretion State Request Letter Template
- Click here for the U.S. EPA Enforcement Discretion Policy
FEMA
The FEMA National Business Emergency Operations Center (NBEOC) is activated and being used to post incident updates as part of the Interagency Crisis Action Task Force supporting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Lead Federal Agency for our nation’s response to COVID-19. Emergency Support Function #14 – Cross Sector Business & Infrastructure is also activated at the national level with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) coordinating.
EMA members may join the National Business Emergency Operations Center (NBEOC) Cross Sector Coordination Call (or continue to be represented by your state and national Petroleum Marketers Associations) each Tuesday/Thursday at 3:00 pm EST. The Call-In Number is: 800-593-7177, and the PIN is: 7963614.
