During a recent meeting of the Cal/OSHA Standards Board, the board indicated that no changes would be made to the proposed non-emergency COVID regulation that the Board will vote on at its December 15, 2022 meeting. The new regulation will become effective beginning January 1, 2023, immediately upon the expiration of the current COVID Emergency Temporary Standard, and will remain in effect through December 31, 2024.

The announcement brings to an end any speculation that additional changes would be made after the initial proposed non-emergency regulation was made public, and after Cal/OSHA issued a modified proposal in mid-October 2022. However, while likely to be approved in its current form, the vote is still yet to occur, so we aren’t completely out of the woods yet.

Overall, the non-emergency regulation is more streamlined and provides some relief for employers from the requirements of the current Emergency Temporary Standard. That being said, many of these changes will require revisions to employers COVID-19 Prevention Plans. For example, the final proposed rule:

• Removes the exclusion pay requirement, which required employers to maintain an employee’s earnings when they were excluded due to a workplace exposure to COVID-19 or other defined circumstances in the regulation.
• Eliminates an employer’s obligation to provide COVID testing at no cost (and during paid time) for employees who are experiencing COVID symptoms but did not have a close contact in the workplace.
• Permits employers to address COVID workplace measures within their existing Injury and Illness Prevention Plans (IIPPs), as opposed to requiring a separate self-standing COVID plan.
• Permits employers to exit from outbreak procedures when there is one or no new COVID-19 cases within a 14-day period (as opposed to zero new cases, as under the current CA ETS).
• Includes a new definition of close contact based on the size of the workplace.

Now that we know what the final rule will be prior to the vote, employers can begin to prepare for these changes should the board vote to adopt the standard on December 15 and the rule goes into effect on January 1, 2023. We encourage you to reach out to your employment counsel to assist you with making any changes to your COVID-19 Prevention Plans and preparing the workplace for the new rule.