Update: FRA Amends Emergency Mask Mandate, Excluding Outdoor Mask Requirement Published: Jun 11 2021 1:06PM
Effective immediately, the Federal Railroad Administration, in accordance with the guidelines of the Center for Disease Control, is no longer requiring railroad workers to wear masks while working outdoors.
The BMWED has worked closely with the Department of Transportation to ease outdoor mask requirements and applauds today’s announcement from the FRA’s Office of Safety.
It is important to note that this change to the FRA mask mandate only applies to workers outdoors. Indoor masks are still required regardless of vaccination status.
One exclusion of note to the indoor mask requirement: those workers who require corrective-lensed glasses to drive motor vehicles are not required to wear a mask even inside a closed cab due to potential glass fogging. However, all passengers inside a particular vehicle (section truck, bus, etc.) are required to wear a mask.
Emergency Order Requiring Face Mask Use in Railroad Operations