At the end of the year, California’s Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued updated guidance regarding Isolation and Quarantine, which applied to workplaces per the Governor’s prior Executive Order. The timing of this guidance was rather awkward, as the Cal/OSHA Standards Board had recently approved changes to the Cal/OSHA ETS set to go into effect on January 14, 2022.

Since then, Cal/OSHA has updated its FAQ pertaining to Isolation and Quarantine to reflect the CDPH guidance. Thus, while other amendments will go into effect for the ETS on January 14, Cal/OSHA’s FAQ makes clear that employers should follow CDPH’s exclusion and return-to-work requirements instead of the corresponding requirements in the ETS. Specifically, the FAQ states that “the new isolation and quarantine recommendations from CDPH replace the exclusion periods and return to work criteria in sections 3205(c)(9) and 3205(c)(10) of the ETS….”

The following sets forth the exclusion and return to work requirements per the Cal/OSHA FAQ:

Exclusion Requirements for Employees Who Test Positive for COVID-19 (Isolation)

Requirements apply to all employees, regardless of vaccination status, previous infection, or lack of symptoms.

Isolation can end and employees may return to the workplace after day 5 if symptoms are not present or are resolving, and a diagnostic specimen* collected on day 5 or later tests negative. If an employee is unable or chooses not to test and their symptoms are not present or are...

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