By Ilana Morady, Patrick D. Joyce, and Coby Turner
Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 21, 2022, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board (“Board”) voted 6-1 to approve a third adoption of the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (“ETS”). The revised ETS will likely go into effect the first week of May and will expire on December 31, 2022.
Background
As we previously blogged, the first iteration of the Cal/OSHA ETS took effect on November 30, 2020. It was initially readopted and revised on June 17, 2021, and then again (called the “second readoption”) on December 16, 2021. The second readoption, which is currently in effect is set to expire on May 6, 2022. Normally, an emergency regulation can only be readopted twice, but by Executive Order, a third readoption of the COVID-19 ETS is permitted so long as it does not extend beyond December 31, 2022.
Now that the Board has voted to approve the third readoption, which is substantively identical to the proposed rule Cal/OSHA published several weeks ago, the revised ETS will go into effect once the Office of Administrative Law completes its review and files with the Secretary of State, likely by the first week in May.
Highlights of the Revised ETS
Much of the current ETS (which we blogged about here) will remain intact. But, the proposed changes are significant for businesses and employees, and remove some requirements. Cal/OSHA has said that updated guidance in the form of FAQs is forthcoming. In the meantime, highlights of the revised ETS include:
- Removing the definition of “fully-vaccinated” from the ETS. This is significant because it means the ETS will no longer distinguish between fully-vaccinated and not-fully-vaccinated employees. In other words, most requirements of the ETS will apply in the same manner regardless of vaccination status, including:
- Testing Requirements: Employers will have to offer testing to all symptomatic employees, and all employees with a workplace close contact, regardless of vaccination status. Testing must be provided at no cost to the employee, and during paid working time. The only exception will be based on whether an exposed employee recently recovered from COVID-19 (see below).
- Providing Respirators: Employers must offer respirators (e.g., N95s) to employees upon request. Now, all employees (regardless of vaccination status) are entitled to a respirator for voluntary use, free of charge, if they ask for one.
- A new term, “returned cases,” has been added, referring to employees with naturally-conferred immunity, i.e. employees who have recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days and remain symptom free.
- If such employees have had a workplace close contact, employers are not required to offer them testing. Nor are employers required to offer such employees testing if they are part of an outbreak’s “exposed group.”
- Face coverings are no longer required for employees who are not fully vaccinated. This has been the case since February 28, 2022, when Governor Newsom issued an Executive Order overriding the ETS. The third readoption codifies that Executive Order.
- Face coverings will still be required:
- If the CDPH issues orders requiring them;
- For employees who have tested positive and are returning to work before 10 days have passed since their symptoms began, or 10 days since they tested positive if they never developed symptoms; or
- For all employees indoors in an exposed group during a workplace outbreak or major outbreak, or those outdoors who cannot maintain 6 feet of distance from others.
- In situations where face coverings are required, but employees are exempted from wearing them, those employees will no longer need to be kept at least six feet apart from others in the workplace, however they will still need to be tested at least weekly.
- The definition of face covering will be updated to remove the requirement that they “not let light pass through when held up to a light source.”
- Removing static requirements for employees who had a close contact, and instead requiring employers to follow current CDPH guidance on close contacts(note these change frequently).
- Changing the term “high risk exposure period” to “infectious period.” Substantively, the change has no impact; it simply aligns the language of the ETS with the language used by public health authorities.
- Cleaning and disinfection requirements are removed.
- During a major outbreak, partitions will no longer be required for exposed groups working together for an extended period but who can’t maintain distance, such as at cash registers, desks, and production line stations.
- The definition of testing will be updated to allow for self-administered and self-read tests for purposes of return-to-work, but only if another means of independent verification of the results can be provided (e.g., a time-stamped photograph of the results).
- Inclusion of an explicit requirement that unredacted personal identifying information about COVID-19 cases has to be shared with the local health department, CDPH, and NIOSH immediately upon request.
- Note that many employers have been uncomfortable sharing the breadth of information being requested by some of these entities based on employee privacy concerns, and have been wanting to redact or leave blank. The ETS now says clearly that the information must be turned over.
Workplace Solutions
Stay tuned for updated guidance and developments on the workplace safety front in California. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your favorite Seyfarth attorney should you have any questions.
Edited by Elizabeth Levy