On December 16, 2021, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (“Cal/OSHA”) adopted revisions to the current COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”). The Cal/OSHA ETS were first approved on November 30, 2020, adopted again with modifications on June 17, 2021, and recently readopted with additional revisions. The newest version of the ETS will go into effect on January 14, 2022, and will apply to all non-remote workers in California except those covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases standard, such as healthcare workers.
The new revisions to the ETS address the following topics:
Face Coverings: Cal/OSHA has updated the definition of “face coverings” to now only permit cloth masks in lieu of surgical/medical masks or respirators, if the mask does not allow “light to pass through when held up to a light source.” However, clear face coverings used for accommodation purposes will not have to meet this “light” standard. Employees with health conditions that prevent them from wearing any type of face covering must physically distance at least six feet from others and either be fully vaccinated or tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis.
Testing: The definition of “COVID-19 test” was updated in the revised ETS to exclude both self-administered and self-read tests “unless observed by the employer or an authorized telehealth proctor.” Employees will no longer be able to simply report results of a home-test to their employer....
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