COVID-19 Client Alerts:
Revised Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Standard
A revised Cal/OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard for COVID-19 is expected to take effect on May 7, 2022. The new standard is effective until the end of the year, at which time a permanent standard may be adopted.
Key changes for California employers are:
- Employees who are a “close contact” with a COVID-19 case are subject to exclusion from work per the then-current California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”) guidance. The new standard does not include its own return-to-work requirements for these employees.
- Note: Employees who are a COVID-19 case remain subject to return-to-work requirements set forth in the standard. However, as before, those requirements are suspended if they exceed the then-current CDPH applicable quarantine requirements, pursuant to Executive Order N-84-20.
- Acceptable test results to return to work now include a self-administered and self-read test, but only if the employee can provide independent means of verification of the results. (The example given is a time-stamped photo of the test results.)
- Employers are no longer required to provide face coverings to employees, unless face coverings are required by a CDPH or local public health order.
- Cleaning and disinfecting procedures are no longer required.
As you can see, employers must remain up-to-date on the Cal/OSHA requirements and the guidance issued by the CDPH.
Employers should read the new standard in its entirety for further details. And – importantly – employers must make the necessary revisions to their COVID-19 Prevention Plan and employee notices.
Murphy Austin's Labor and Employment Law Team
Please contact one of our team members if we can be of assistance.
Aaron B. Silva, Labor and Employment Law Partner
916.446.2300, Ext. 3027
asilva@murphyaustin.com
916.446.2300, Ext. 3027
asilva@murphyaustin.com
Shawn M. Joost, Labor and Employment Law Of Counsel
916.446.2300, Ext. 3010
sjoost@murphyaustin.com