With 2024 coming to a close, here is a roundup of Cal/OSHA updates from the recent Standard Board meetings and Cal/OSHA’s triannual advisory committee meeting:...more
On December 18, 2024, Governor Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency to streamline and expedite the state’s response to Avian influenza A (H5N1), commonly known as “Bird Flu.” This may give many employers flashbacks to the...more
The California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) September 6, 2024, All Facilities Letter (AFL) reaffirms the independent practice authority of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). Despite this reaffirmation,...more
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a letter on September 6, 2024, to all general acute care hospitals clarifying the scope of practice for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) following...more
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) proposed changes to regulations regarding general acute care hospital (GACH) licensing requirements related to clinical laboratory, dietetic, and pharmaceutical services....more
On January 9, 2024, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) updated its COVID-19 isolation recommendations to move away from 5 days of isolation and instead focus on clinical symptoms to determine when to end...more
Last week, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board approved an emergency temporary standard regarding respirable crystalline silica (RCS). The standard will take effect December 29, 2023....more
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has updated its definition of an “outbreak.” As previously discussed in our January 25, 2023 blog post, the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) were...more
By now, California employers are quite familiar with the following situation: the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) makes a change to COVID-19 guidance and your workplace obligations are affected under Cal/OSHA’s...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 20, 2023, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) updated its guidance to local health departments on the definition of a COVID-19 outbreak. The new definition changes the timeframe for...more
While the California COVID-19 State of Emergency was lifted several months ago, one holdover of the COVID-19 pandemic is the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations (NER), which remain in effect until February...more
The COVID-19 State of Emergency for California ended on February 28, 2023. In its wake, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has announced impending updates to its remaining COVID-19 mandates, including those...more
California public health officials just issued updated COVID-19 isolation guidance that at first blush seems to smooth the way for simpler workplace compliance obligations. But the Department of Public Health’s (CDPH)...more
On March 3, 2023, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced changes to its COVID-19 guidelines. A few days later, the County of Los Angeles announced it will align a few of its guidelines with the CDPH....more
On March 3, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced sweeping changes to its COVID-19 guidance related to masking, vaccination, and isolation after a positive COVID-19 test. Most significantly, as of April...more
The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board’s COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulation is now in place. It took effect on February 3, 2023, following approval by the state’s Office of Administrative Law....more
As COVID-19 continues to linger in California, it remains an ongoing concern for state lawmakers. In response to this ongoing threat, California continues to provide updated regulations as it pertains to COVID in the...more
In November 2022, when The Joint Commission (“TJC”) announced its decision to update its accreditation standards to permit practitioner recredentialing every three years instead of two, many California hospitals and their...more
California employers take note: the non-emergency version of the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention regulations are now in effect. At the end of 2022, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board voted to adopt the COVID-19 Prevention...more
Although most experts say that COVID-19 is here to stay, California’s employment-related emergency regulations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are winding down. As most employers are aware, on December 31, 2022,...more
Governor Gavin Newsom signed 997 bills into law in 2022, including a substantial number relating to health care. In Part II of our legislative update, we summarize many of the laws relevant to health facilities, a number of...more
As we near the end of the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), Cal/OSHA has promised a new COVID-19 workplace regulation in its place. On December 15, the agency’s Standards Board will be voting to approve a...more
Employers may be able to revise their COVID-19 protocols now that the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has updated the definition of “close contact” for isolation and quarantine purposes. Over the summer, the...more
Previously, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) had redefined “close contact’ as someone sharing the same indoor airspace with a person who had COVID-19 for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a...more
Fans of the 1984 fantasy film The NeverEnding Story might remember the famous line, “Every real story is a never-ending story.” For California employers that have been grappling with COVID-19 for the better part of the last...more