Status Quo Remains in the California Workplace
California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board was expected today to consider revised COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards for re-adoption. However, the Cal/OSHA staff requested that the Board not act on the revised standards and wait for staff to present a new proposal at a future meeting. This request was made due to new guidance released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this month for vaccinated people and masking, and the California Department of Public Health's statements that the State will adopt those guidelines. Cal/OSHA staff stated in a memo that its target effective date for revised ETS would be June 15. Therefore, the Board will hold a meeting to consider new revised standards on June 3.
What this means for employers:
- Employers must continue to follow current COVID-19 ETS, as clarified by the FAQ. Both the ETS and the FAQ are available here.
- Employees must continue to wear face coverings, regardless of vaccination status when indoors.
- Employees must continue to physically distance regardless of vaccination status.
- As clarified by the FAQ, employers do not need to exclude exposed employees who are fully vaccinated, as long as they remain symptom free.
- As clarified by the FAQ and applying Executive Order N-84-20 and CDPH guidance, a 14-day quarantine for exposed employees who are not vaccinated is recommended, but the required quarantine period is 10 days.
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