Cal OSHA Considers New COVID-19 Workplace Standards

On Thursday, April 21, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (CalOSHA) will consider newly proposed amendments to the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) for workplace safety.

 

If passed and adopted by CalOSHA, the ETS will become effective on Saturday, May 7, 2022. Governor Newsom extended the current ETS that was set to expire in April through an Executive Order for an additional 90 days following a surge in COVID-19 cases.

 

The proposed ETS amendments reflect changes from the Governor’s Executive Order to automatically align workplace standards when the CA Department of Public Health releases updated requirements or recommended guidance for isolation and quarantine periods. The proposal will allow employees to self-administer and self-verify COVID-19 results without a 3rd party present as long as it can be verified such as a time-stamped photograph of the results. Employers are no longer required to provide testing at no cost to employees who meet the return to work criteria and did not develop COVID-19 symptoms after returning to work. Additionally, the ETS removes the employer requirement to implement cleaning and disinfecting procedures.

 

CTA will continue to monitor and will update members on the final revisions.