Employers must wait a few more weeks for updates loosening the requirements of Cal/OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standards. Yesterday, the OSHA Standards Board voted to postpone any decision so that the changes would become effective on June 15, 2021 to coincide with the Governor’s anticipated loosening of statewide COVID-19 restrictions. As a result, workers must continue to wear masks and practice physical distancing for now, unless they’re alone — either in a room or outside. Workers can remove masks when eating or drinking but must be physically distant from others.

Although they didn’t take any official action, a few board members expressed reservations about rolling back restrictions too far — even though the CDC has already relaxed its recommendations. The board will next meet on June 3rd to vote on new language that will be proposed by Cal/OSHA. A revised proposal would have to be posted for public review no later than May 28^th.

Cal/OSHA had published the draft ETS proposal on May 7, 2021. This proposal includes several common sense revisions which loosen COVID-19 requirements in the workplace and are more aligned with current CDC and California Department of Public Health guidance. These potential updates include:

1. Updating its definition of “place of employment” to clarify that the ETS does not apply to employees teleworking from a remote location of their choice;
2. Clarifying its “close contact” definition to exclude those who are wearing a respirator under a respiratory protection program;
3. Shifting from a focus on an “exposed workplace” to defining employees as an “exposed group” of workers at a work location, working area, or common area at which a COVID-19 case was present during the high-risk exposure period. The proposed revisions also exclude from this definition workers who are not present at the same time, have no overlap in the workplace, or momentarily pass through an area, as well as clarify what constitutes 15 minutes together when wearing face coverings;
4. Defining “fully vaccinated” as documentation that evidences that the person received, at least 14 days prior, either the second dose in a 2-dose COVID-19 vaccine series or a single dose COVID-19 vaccine;
5. Creating a duty to provide COVID-19 exposure notices when they know or should know about a COVID-19 case, which is a new distinction. The draft proposal mandates written exposure notices that must include information required by California Labor Code Section 6409.6. Additionally, the proposed revisions require employers to provide verbal notice in a language understandable to the employee if they believe the employee has not received the notice. The requirement to notify independent contractors and other employers of a possible COVID-19 exposure remains unchanged;
6. Substantially changing physical distancing requirements to allow work locations with fully vaccinated employees to cease physical distancing; and
7. Relieving employers from excluding fully vaccinated employees from the workplace after “close contact” with other individuals and from testing vaccinated employees during an outbreak.

Cal/OSHA has already made some changes regarding vaccinated employees discussed in our last alert. However, employers must wait a few more weeks to implement any further changes and updates to their COVID-19 Prevention Plans. Until then, Employers should continue to comply with the current version of the Cal/OSHA ETS.

Stradling Has Resources To Help You Stay Compliant

To assist California employers in complying the various COVID-19 requirements in California, Stradling has created COVID-19 protocols which incorporate all the new requirements and clarifications of the ETS and help businesses comply with federal, state, and county requirements. We encourage you to reach out if you are in the process of reopening or you have been conducting business and want to make sure you are in compliance with the applicable industry guidelines.