At its December 15, 2022 Board Meeting, the California Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Standards Board adopted a Non-Emergency COVID-19 Prevention Standard. This new standard is mostly the same as the existing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), with notable exceptions including the following:
- No exclusion pay provision
- Changes to the “Close Contact” definition and response actions
The new Non-Emergency COVID-19 Prevention Standard applies to most workers not covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard. Click here to see the Non-Emergency COVID-19 Prevention standard with changes from the current emergency regulation. Also, Cal/OSHA has prepared a new Non-Emergency COVID-19 Regulation fact sheet that identifies what employers need to know.
The new Standard will take effect after the Office of Administrative Law completes its analysis and files with the Secretary of State, which is anticipated in January 2023. In the meantime, the existing ETS remains in effect. The Non-Emergency COVID-19 Standard is intended to be a two-year temporary/permanent standard. This two-year period will afford Cal/OSHA time to complete a General Infectious Disease Standard, which is currently under development.
PRISM will continue to monitor the OSH Standards Board and keep members informed of regulatory changes. For questions about this blog or PRISM's monitoring of COVID-19 regulations, please contact PRISM Risk Control.