Several cities, states, counties and Puerto Rico have made updates to their COVID-19-related laws, regulations and orders. See below for the latest news.
California
Cal-OSHA
Cal/OSHA Announces ETS Amendments and Updates
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in California, Workplace Safety and Health
Cal/OSHA’s ETS is Amended and Extended to April 2022
On December 16, 2021, Cal/OSHA’s Standards Board voted to readopt the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) with several revisions. This vote comes on the heels of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issuing a state-wide face-covering requirement for indoor public settings and in the…
Clarification for Masks in the Workplace from CDPH and Cal/OSHA
By Sean Paisan on
Posted in California
Less than 24 hours after the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) new mask mandate went into effect, the CDPH updated its guidance to clarify the application of the mandate. Previously, the mandate by the CDPH referenced “indoor public settings” without further definition. In the updated guidance, the CDPH clarifies that “the guidance applies to…
Will They or Won’t They? Cal/OSHA Scheduled to Vote on ETS Readoption
By Sean Paisan on
Posted in California
The federal OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) is currently paused while the Sixth Circuit decides its fate. Similarly, Cal/OSHA had previously postponed its discussions of changes to the state’s COVID-19 ETS to see what would happen with OSHA.
However, time is starting to tick on the current Cal/OSHA ETS, which expires on January…
Update on Face Coverings in California
By Conor J. Dale & Benjamin A. Tulis on
Posted in California
In June, California relaxed many of its COVID-19 restrictions, including allowing fully vaccinated individuals to go without a face covering indoors, with limited exception. Also in June, Cal/OSHA passed an amended Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) that allowed for fully vaccinated employees to go without a face covering in most situations.
However, as California…
Cal/OSHA Proposes to Expand COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards Through April 2022
By Sean Paisan & Sierra Vierra on
Posted in California, Workplace Safety and Health
Since the drama in passing the amended COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) in June, the Cal/OSHA Board has been relatively quiet, though discussing a more permanent COVID-19 Standard. In the meantime, federal OSHA took the spotlight with President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan.
Currently, the Cal/OSHA ETS is set to expire on January…
Additional Guidance for Cal OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards
By Cressinda D. Schlag on
Posted in California, Workplace Safety and Health
In November, California quietly approved the Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (“Cal OSHA”) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). Almost immediately, Cal OSHA’s ETS caused significant confusion and challenges for employers, who were already struggling with countless federal, state, and local requirements pertaining to COVID-19. Cal OSHA’s ETS also appeared to create new and…
Agricultural Employers Challenge Cal OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19 Prevention
Posted in California, Workplace Safety and Health
At the end of 2020, California approved the Division of Occupational Safety & Health’s (“Cal OSHA”) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”).
Among the many requirements in the new ETS, Cal OSHA imposed a performance-based obligation on employers to establish and implement an effective COVID-19 Prevention Program, COVID-19 preventive measures (e.g., social distancing and mandatory…
Updated COVID-19 Quarantine Guidance for the Golden State
By Gina M. Roccanova & Bianca A. Valencia on
Posted in Workplace Safety and Health
At the beginning of December, the CDC issued new guidance regarding the length of quarantine. Although the new CDC guidance was not definitive in shortening the quarantine period, it did provide options to local health departments to shorten the quarantine period, if they determined it appropriate.
On December 14th, the California…
California Employers are now Grappling with Cal OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard
By Cressinda D. Schlag on
Posted in California, Workplace Safety and Health
Shortly before Thanksgiving, California’s Department of Industrial Relations Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board (“Board”) adopted a general safety order that creates an emergency temporary standard specific to potential workplace COVID-19 exposures (“Rule”). The Rule was quietly approved by the Office of Administrative Law without detailed analysis on November 30th and went into effect…