CWA Blog Archive-Climbing Gym Workplace Health & Safety For COVID-19

Climbing Gym Workplace Health & Safety For COVID-19 - Part I

Pdf Summary

This is Part I of Laura Allured's examination of workplace health and safety for climbing gyms during COVID-19, focused on protecting gym staff as facilities weighed reopening. It acknowledges the immense pressures gyms faced: contending with the financial implications of getting members and customers back while navigating various local, state, and federal reopening rules, with the reopening decision requiring weighing multiple risk-laden issues, among them the safety and health of gym staff. The article grounds its discussion in the OSHA General Duty Clause, quoting the OSH Act of 1970's requirement that each employer shall furnish employment and a place of employment free from recognized hazards causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees. It emphasizes why staff safety is central: front desk staff, instructors, coaches, routesetters and the like are the faces of the industry and the first-line points of contact with the climbing public, so maintaining their health and safety during the pandemic is essential to keeping gyms safe and open for business. The article is structured in two parts, with Part I providing information about OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requirements and practical approaches to managing workplace health and safety. The throughline is that protecting the health and safety of gym staff is both a legal obligation under OSHA's General Duty Clause and an operational necessity for keeping gyms safely open during the pandemic. Because employees, front desk workers, instructors, coaches, routesetters, are the industry's frontline, exposed through constant contact with the climbing public, their safety directly affects whether a gym can operate safely at all. The OSHA General Duty Clause legally requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause serious harm, a standard that squarely applies to COVID-19 risks. By anchoring the discussion in this established legal requirement and framing staff safety as essential to safe operations, Part I establishes that reopening decisions must seriously weigh employee protection, not just financial recovery and regulatory compliance. For operators, the article provides both the legal grounding (OSHA requirements) and practical guidance for managing workplace safety, setting up Part II's deeper dive into nuanced legal questions, and reminding gyms that their staff's wellbeing is foundational to responsibly reopening and sustaining operations amid the pandemic.

Asset Caption

Part I of Laura Allured's COVID workplace-safety series grounds staff protection in OSHA's General Duty Clause, requiring a workplace free from recognized serious hazards. Since frontline staff, front desk, instructors, coaches, setters, contact the public constantly, their safety is both a legal obligation and essential to keeping gyms safely open. It covers OSHA requirements and practical management.