Our last blog posting mentioned the fact that Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 regulations have been out-of-step with federal policy. Things have since changed. Just yesterday (Thursday, June 17), Cal/OSHA updated its Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) to align with federal policy—and the pandemic’s trajectory. For California employers, this is welcome news.
Among other things, the new rules mean that:
- Fully vaccinated employees do not need to wear face-covering indoors (except in exceptional circumstances).
- Employees do not need to wear face coverings outdoors regardless of their vaccination status.
- Social (physical) distancing of employees has been eliminated for fully vaccinated employees (again: except in certain circumstances).
Interestingly, the new regulations require employers to document the vaccination status of fully vaccinated employees if those employees are bare-faced indoors. At present, however, Cal/OSHA has not indicated the manner in which this status should be documented. We will provide an update as needed.
For an official summary of Cal/OSHA’s revisions, please click here. A full copy of Cal/OHSA’s revisions is available here.
For more information, please contact us at info@mnklawyers.com
This material is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor does it create a client-lawyer relationship between MNK Law and any recipient. Recipients should consult with counsel before taking any actions based on the information contained within this material.
