Seyfarth Synopsis: On September 17, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued, Cal/OSHA’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted unanimously to draft a COVID-19 temporary emergency standard and a permanent infectious disease standard, with a deadline for consideration at their November 19 meeting. The Board believes an ETS would improve COVID-19 worker safety for California workers and give the Agency greater enforcement powers to hold employers accountable.

The Board’s September meeting considered the following agenda item for approval:

[A]mend Title 8 standards to create two new regulations. The first, a temporary emergency standard that would provide specific protections to California employees who may have exposure to COVID-19, but who are not protected by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases standards (Sections 5199 and 5199.1). The second standard would be a permanent rulemaking effort to protect workers from infectious diseases including novel pathogens (e.g. COVID-19).

According to the LA Times, the Board voted to approve the proposal unanimously. While there are existing safety rules and guidelines related to COVID-19 that employers are encouraged to follow, subject to fines from Cal/OSHA, the new standard is expected to provide specific steps employers can take to better protect employees from possible outbreaks, with the goal of alleviating confusion while strengthening oversight.