Workplace Safety and Health

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has offered new COVID-19 guidance indicating that fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear masks or maintain physical distance from others in most settings. However, questions about employers’ compliance obligations and general duty expectations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) remain.…

On May 20th, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board was set to vote on revisions to COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”).

The evening before the vote the Deputy Chief for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Division”) submitted a request that the Standards Board not to vote on proposed revisions and instead allow the…

As COVID-19-related litigation increases, courts are being called upon to interpret the scope of employers’ duties to protect their employees with relation to the virus.  Last week, a California federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by a spouse attempting to hold her husband’s employer liable for her COVID-19 infection.  The judge held that California’s worker’s…

On May 13th, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) updated its guidance for fully vaccinated individuals.  The new guidance identified circumstances in which fully vaccinated individuals do not have to wear face coverings, including indoors. However, fully vaccinated individuals must still comply with federal, state, local, or workplace guidance for face coverings. Earlier in…

On May 20th, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board will consider changes to COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”).

The proposed changes would still require employers to have an established written COVID-19 Prevention Program (“CPP”) that covers everything from training and communication with employees to the investigation of COVID-19 cases in the workplace.

However, there are…

As the federal government and state of California adjusted their COVID-19 guidance for vaccinated individuals, Cal OSHA remained silent on how vaccination affected the requirements under its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). While there had been discussions of revisions to the ETS, it was unclear if Cal OSHA would be able to release such…

In November 2020, Cal OSHA passed the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS). Currently, the Standards are set to expire on October 2, 2021.

As outlined in prior articles, the ETS require that employers:

  • Establish, implement, and maintain an effective written COVID-19 Prevention Program.
  • Implement COVID-19 preventative measures.
  • Report information to their local

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