As part of bi-weekly meetings of the SEMI Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability (EHSS) community to share information on the impacts of the pandemic, the EHSS COVID-19 Working Group recently revealed that companies are offering paid time off to employees to get vaccinated, as well as investigating whether vaccination clinics can be held on-site.
Some companies are drafting return-to-work policies, with some issuing employee surveys to get a sense of their preferences for full-time office or hybrid work schedules. As the U.S. vaccination rate increases, some members have expressed concerns about the patchwork of state workplace regulations governing companies’ pandemic responses, asking whether the rules will be updated in a timely manner to permit a coordinated return-to-work schedule.
Access to masks, safety glasses, face shields, gloves, sanitization gear, temperature screening devices and other personal protective equipment (PPE) appears to have stabilized, with no reports of shortages or long lead times.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has eased its guidelines for wearing masks outdoors, saying fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to cover their faces unless they are in a large crowd of strangers. If you're fully vaccinated, here are things the CDC says you can safely do.
Lastly, COVID-19 Working Group members reported a gradual resumption of air travel in the U.S. electronics industry, primarily by satellite office workers traveling to companies' headquarters. The travel must typically be “mission critical” to the business and receive director or higher-level approval.
In February, SEMI Japan assessed steps companies needed to take for workers to travel from Japan to customer sites in China, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. The consensus is that it is a very difficult undertaking because:
- Companies in Japan are required to secure multiple government approvals after submitting a number of forms error-free to avoid the risk of denied travel requests.
- Travel is limited to designated airlines to specified cities on certain days.
- Multiple, repetitive health checkups are mandatory before, during and after travel including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and International Medical Group (IMG) tests.
- 14-day hotel quarantine stays are the rule in some countries with very limited services, meals, and other amenities at some hotels.
- Companies must download and manage multiple apps to provide information on employee location and health status for tracking purposes.
To join the SEMI EHSS COVID-19 Working Group, contact the SEMI EHSS team at EHS@semi.org.
From crisis responses and regulations to environmental sustainability and safety standards, SEMI members collaborate on key issues to advance the microelectronics industry through education. Visit our website to learn more about SEMI’s Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability initiative.
Michael Ciesinski is vice president of Technology Communities; James Amano is senior director of International Standards and Environment, Health and Safety; and Nishita Rao is senior product marketing manager at SEMI.