The California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board met May 20, 2021 to consider enacting sweeping updates to Cal/OSHA’s emergency temporary standards (“ETS”) for COVID-19 prevention. In spite of mounting pressure to either update or eliminate the ETS, which were originally enacted in November 2020, the board did not vote to act on the proposed changes. They are expected to reconvene on June 3, 2021 to further discuss revisions. For now, the most up-to-date guidance for employers from Cal/OSHA comes in alterations to the ETS’s FAQs. Learn more about these revisions, which primarily affect fully vaccinated workers, below.

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On May 3, 2021, the California Public Health Department (CPHD) released updated public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people. Significantly, the guidance states that fully vaccinated non-healthcare workers are no longer required to quarantine after a known workplace exposure to COVID-19 if they are asymptomatic. In response, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) updated their recommendations for fully vaccinated employees in the workplace.

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CPHD Guidance: Eligibility Requirements and Provisions

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These recommendations from the CDPH only apply to non-healthcare workers that are fully vaccinated. For the purposes of this guidance, employees are considered “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19 two weeks or more after they have received either a single-dose vaccine or the second dose in a 2-dose series of a vaccine authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration. Currently, the only vaccines authorized for such use are the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccines. The guidance will be updated as additional vaccines are approved.

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Under these updated recommendations, eligible employees that are exposed to the COVID-19 virus in the workplace do not need to quarantine if they are asymptomatic. The CDPH emphasizes that employers subject to Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) must still ensure that all employees are following applicable face covering and testing requirements.

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Cal/OSHA: Updates to Emergency Temporary Standards FAQs

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On May 5, 2021, Cal/OSHA updated their ETS FAQs to reflect this change. Under the ETS, employers must still exclude fully vaccinated employees that “are COVID-19 cases or have had a COVID-19 exposure and exhibit COVID-19 symptoms” from the workplace. However, fully vaccinated, non-healthcare employees who do not develop symptoms of COVID-19 after a known exposure are no longer required to quarantine.

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The FAQs have also been updated to reflect that, when an employer learns (in a non-outbreak setting) that one or more of their employees was exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace, the employer must:

“exclude from the workplace employees who test positive for COVID-19, and exclude employees with COVID-19 exposure unless they are fully vaccinated and do not show any symptoms of COVID-19, and follow the requirements for preserving their pay and benefits.”

Resources for California Employers

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Access the CPHD’s updated recommendations here.

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Access Cal/OSHA’s updated COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards FAQs here.

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As California’s targeted reopening date on June 15, 2021 fast approaches, employers should stay tuned for newly updated guidance from Cal/OSHA and other regulatory agencies. If you have questions regarding the CDPH or Cal/OSHA’s updated guidance, please contact one of the following attorneys in The Maloney Firm’s Employment Law Department: Patrick Maloney, Lisa Von Eschen, Samantha Botros, or Nicholas Grether.

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