California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has voted for the third time to readopt and revise the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”), which layout guidelines for testing, masking, and other COVID-19 prevention measures for employers to follow with respect to their employees and workspaces. The most recent ETS took effect on May 6. Most of the changes will have little impact on current practice but are still instructive.
The major changes from the previous iteration of the ETS are as follows:
Elimination of Distinction Between Employees Who Are and Are Not “Fully Vaccinated.” In perhaps the most significant change, the new ETS delete all differentiation based on vaccination status. This flattening has a number of repercussions, including:
Employers must now provide respirators upon request to all employees, not just those who are unvaccinated.
Employers must now provide face coverings to and ensure that they are worn, when required, by all employees, not just those who are unvaccinated.
However, in another change, this obligation to provide and wear face coverings applies now only to exposed employees in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak or when required by order of the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”), not at all times.
All employees who cannot, when required, wear face coverings or a non-restrictive alternative for medical reasons must undergo weekly testing, on paid time and at no cost to the employee, even...
As actor Kim Soo-hyun has been cleared of false allegations and resumed his activities, he has taken legal action against trolls who continue to spread false information about the actor and engage...