Articles Discussing California Workplace Health And Safety Issues.

As California community COVID transmissions decline and Governor Newsom promises to re-open the economy on June 15, 2021, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board hesitates on lifting face mask requirements in the office.

On June 3, 2021, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board adopted an updated version of the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that phased out certain face covering and physical distancing requirements found in the November 30, 2020 version of the ETS, and implemented additional requirements for California employers.

Last night, Cal/OSHA voted unanimously to throw out and withdraw the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) it adopted only a week ago, on June 3.  Basically, the agency did a 180 in less than seven days.  This happened so fast

On June 3, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Standards Board) voted to readopt proposed revisions to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“Revised ETS”).  The Standards Board initially scheduled a vote on proposed changes

In an emergency meeting on June 9th, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board reversed itself and voted to withdraw the amended COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) it had just approved on June 3rd.  As such, employers will remain governed by the ETS that was passed in November 2020.

The emergency meeting was

So, the Cal/OSHA Board had a wild meeting last week.  In the end, the Board approved the proposed revisions to the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS).  Here is a link to the comparison.

On June 3, 2021, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal OSHA”) adopted revised regulations that address the impact of vaccinations as they have become widely available to the general public in California. These revised regulations contain comprehensive guidelines – more restrictive than those recently imposed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) – for employers to follow in addition to many of the prior requirements previously issued by Cal OSHA’s COVID-19 Prevention Program, discussed in our previous Alert.

On June 3, 2021, Cal/OSHA adopted revised COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards. These highly controversial new standards will likely be effective June 15, 2021.

1.5 hours of CA MCLE, HRCI and SHRM credit pending.

On June 3, 2021, the Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board of California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) was initially unable to pass the proposed changes to the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS)  after a daylong online hearing with more than 500 individuals logged on to the meeting

On May 20, 2021, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board  (“Board”) delayed a vote on proposed changes to the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”). At that time, the Board claimed they would revise the ETS to address updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) for fully vaccinated persons.

Last Friday, Cal-OSHA published its revised, proposed COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”). These rules and regulations were promulgated primarily to take into account the impact of vaccinations in our state. They provide incentives for employers with large percentages of fully-vaccinated employees. These new standards are very extensive and have many new requirements for employers.

In the wake of recent workplace shootings, employers may be wondering if there are any specific regulations to protect employees from such events. Labor Code § 6302(h) as part of the California Occupational Safety and Health Act, excludes “any injury or illness or death caused by the commission of a

Last week, on May 20, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board met to review and vote on proposed revisions to the COVID-19 emergency regulations. However, that vote was delayed due to a letter request by Cal/OSHA – the agency that published the original emergency regulations and the proposed revisions. The delay was implemented in order to respond to updated CDC guidance which would “allow fully vaccinated persons to go without masks in some settings.”

On May 19, 2021, on the eve of a vote by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to adopt proposed substantial changes to the existing Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS), Deputy Chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (commonly known as “Cal/OSHA”) Eric Berg asked that

On May 18, 2021, Santa Clara County, California, issued a health order that both relieves employers of some earlier COVID-19–related requirements and imposes new obligations on employers, particularly with respect to employees’ vaccination status. Santa Clara County also issued the “Mandatory Directive on Use of Face Coverings” and the “Mandatory