As public and occupational health agencies around the world continuously reevaluating their responses to the developing COVID-19 pandemic, California has again weighed in on the side of continuing formal controls. Effective May 5, 2022, California has revised and extended its COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) until January 1, 2023. (I wrote about the most recent previous iteration adopted in February HERE). The ETS is presented as 5 rules, which are administered by California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH, but universally called Cal/OSHA). The remainder of this note summarizes these revised standards, which appear in Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR):
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3205 COVID-19 Prevention
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3205.1 Multiple COVID-19 Infections and COVID-19 Outbreaks
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3205.2 Major COVID-19 Outbreaks
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3205.3 COVID-19 Prevention in Employer-Provided Housing
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3205.4 COVID-19 Prevention in Employer-Provided Transportation
How does the COVID-19 “emergency” justify emergency standards?
California law establishes standards and procedures for state agencies to adopt an “emergency regulation” (Cal. Government Code 11346.1). For COVID-19, the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) adopted ETS rules in November 2020, relying on a State of Emergency declared by Governor Newsom covering the public health hazards of COVID-19 and on the Governor’s subsequent executive orders (including stay-at-home orders), which cite evidence of the likelihood of COVID-19 spreading via workplaces. Because the state law limits emergency regulations to no more than 180 days’ duration, OSHSB previously reaffirmed the continuing emergency and readopted its regulations – with amendments – in June 2021, December 2021, and February 2022.
Who is subject to the standards?
The latest ETS regulations continue apply to all “employees and places of employment,” except the following:
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Work locations with one employee who does not have contact with other persons.
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Employees working from home.
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Employees in a variety of healthcare settings with occupational exposure to “aerosol transmissible diseases” covered by 8 CCR 5199.
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Employees teleworking from a location of their choice, not under the employer’s control.
Note that this definition is based on employees, not employers, so the standards apply to any employer with one or more covered employees. They expressly do not supersede any public health agency standards that may be more stringent (as during the earlier mandated workplace closures).
What must employers do?
Employers must establish, implement, and maintain an effective, written COVID-19 Prevention Program. These can be stand-alone documents, or may be integrated into the employer's required overall Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP; which I have discussed HERE). Required written elements of a COVID-19 Prevention Program include:
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System for communicating –all of the following in a form readily understandable by employees:
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Ask employees to report, without fear of reprisal, COVID-19 symptoms, possible close contacts, and possible workplace COVID-19 hazards.
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Describe how employees with medical or other conditions that put them at increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness can request accommodations.
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Provide information about access to COVID-19 testing.
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Communicate information about COVID-19 hazards and the employer's COVID-19 policies and procedures to employees and to others in contact with the workplace.
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Identification and evaluation of COVID-19 hazards.
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allow participation by employees and their authorized representative participation in the identification and evaluation of COVID-19 hazards.
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develop and implement a process to screen employees and respond to employees with COVID-19 symptoms. The employer may ask employees to evaluate their own symptoms before reporting to work. An employer that conducts screening indoors at the workplace must ensure use of face coverings during screening by screeners and any employees who are not fully vaccinated and, use of non-contact thermometers if temperatures are measured.
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develop COVID-19 policies and procedures to respond effectively and immediately to individuals at the workplace who are COVID-19 cases, to prevent or reduce the risk of workplace transmission.
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conduct a “workplace-specific identification of all interactions, areas, activities, processes, equipment, and materials that could potentially expose employees to COVID-19 hazards. Employers shall treat all persons, regardless of symptoms or negative COVID-19 test results, as potentially infectious.”
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For indoor locations, evaluate how to maximize ventilation with outdoor air; the highest level of filtration efficiency compatible with the existing ventilation system; and whether High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtration or other air cleaning systems would reduce transmission risk.
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review applicable orders and guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the local health department related to COVID-19 hazards and prevention.
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evaluate existing workplace COVID-19 prevention controls and the need for different or additional controls.
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conduct periodic inspections as needed to identify unhealthy conditions, work practices, and work procedures related to COVID-19 and to ensure compliance with employer's COVID-19 policies and procedures.
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Investigating and responding to COVID-19 cases in the workplace
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have an effective procedure to investigate workplace COVID-19 cases, including seeking details about exposures and information from employees
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Within one business day after the employer “knew or should have known” of a COVID-19 case, give written notice, in a form readily understandable by employees, that people at the worksite may have been exposed (protecting privacy)
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Make COVID-19 testing available at no cost and during paid hours, to employees who were exposed
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Investigate whether workplace conditions could have contributed to the exposure risk and what could be done to reduce exposure hazards
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Correction of COVID-19 hazards - implement effective policies and/or procedures for timely correction of unsafe or unhealthy conditions, work practices, policies and procedures.
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Training and instruction- with required information about COVID-19, and the employer’s policies and procedures.
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Face coverings – provide to all employees as required by health agency order, and ensure they are worn properly except by employees exempt because of assignment (e.g., when working alone) or medical reasons; provide upon request to all employees when not required to wear. This provision has been changed to eliminate a separate requirement to provide coverings to all employees who are not vaccinated without reference to health agency orders.
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Other engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment – including adequate ventilation; handwashing equipment; personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, goggles, and face shields; and testing of symptomatic employees. A description of cleaning and disinfection procedures has been removed.
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Reporting, record keeping and access – report and maintain records about activities under these rules, and about cases in the workplace.
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Exclusion of COVID-19 cases and employees who had a close contact - to limit transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace. The latest version directs employers to follow the latest CDPH guidance.
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Return to work criteria – for employees who had symptoms, who tested positive but were asymptomatic, and whenever required by health agency order. These have been revised extensively to clarify that they apply to employees “regardless of vaccination status” (i.e., unvaccinated, vaccinated, and now vaccinated plus boosted), and to employees who previously had COVID.
Except as noted above, these requirements are essentially unchanged from the previous version of the ETS, except for editorial changes and clarifications. The latest May readoption makes limited revisions to the other four regulatory sections covered, which set forth additional requirements for:
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Multiple COVID-19 infections and COVID-19 outbreaks – a workplace where three or more employee COVID-19 cases within an exposed group visited the workplace during their high-risk exposure period at any time during a 14-day period
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Major COVID-19 outbreaks – a workplace where 20 or more employee COVID-19 cases within an exposed group visited the workplace during their high-risk exposure period at any time during a 30-day period
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COVID-19 prevention in employer-provided housing
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COVID-19 prevention in employer-provided transportation
What’s next?
The latest revised version of Cal/OSHA requirements became effective on May 5, 2022, and is scheduled to remain effective through December 31, 2022. Organizations with employees in California must comply with these requirements, and employers outside California should continue to consider voluntary programs consistent with these requirements.
Self-Assessment Checklist
If the organization has employees in California, has it reviewed its COVID-19 prevention activities to ensure they comply with the latest requirements?
If the organization has no employees in California, has it implemented COVID-19 prevention and response procedures?
Where Can I Go For More Information?
About the Author
Jon Elliott is President of Touchstone Environmental and has been a major contributor to STP’s product range for over 30 years.
Mr. Elliott has a diverse educational background. In addition to his Juris Doctor (University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1981), he holds a Master of Public Policy (Goldman School of Public Policy [GSPP], UC Berkeley, 1980), and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Princeton University, 1977).
Mr. Elliott is active in professional and community organizations. In addition, he is a past chairman of the Board of Directors of the GSPP Alumni Association, and past member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California's Environmental Law Section (including past chair of its Legislative Committee).
You may contact Mr. Elliott directly at: tei@ix.netcom.com