In a surprising move this week, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (“Board”) unanimously voted to withdraw the revisions just adopted by on June 3rd, to Cal/OSHA’s Covid-19 prevention emergency temporary standards (“ETS”) that we wrote about this past Monday (Updates to Cal/OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards Pending Approval) which were expected to go into effect no later than June 15th.
The Board’s withdrawal of the revised ETS took place at this week’s meeting where the Board was considering the latest guidance regarding face mask requirements from the CDC and California Department of Health. The latest action by the Board is take number three on the Covid-19 ETS, which were adopted in late November 2020 to address prevention of the spread of Covid-19 but did not take into account vaccinations, required testing, quarantining, masking and more to protect employees in the workplace.
Now, we will need to wait for Cal/OSHA to propose newer revisions to the ETS that will likely be voted as early June 17th. Despite the updated CDC guidance for masking and other prevention methods, the protections adopted in November of 2020 remain in effect and employers must continue to abide by those requirements, even with the June 15th date of California’s re-opening. For more information on what these changes mean for your business as California inches toward “re-opening”, contact the Employer Lawyers at Chauvel & Glatt.
This material in this article, provided by Chauvel & Glatt, is designed to provide informative and current information as of the date of the post. It should not be considered, nor is it intended to constitute legal advice. For information on your particular circumstances, please contact Chauvel & Glatt at 650-573-9500. (photo credit: 123rf.com)
