The Cal/OSHA Standards Board is set to vote on a permanent COVID-19 workplace safety standard on Sept. 15, that would take effect at the start of 2023 and last through 2024.
The permanent standard will replace the temporary emergency standard that took effect in 2020 after the pandemic started and is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2022.
The temporary emergency standard has been updated as regulators and health authorities figured out how to best prevent spread of the disease and as mortality rates for those who contract it have ebbed.
The new standard will continue requiring employers to establish, implement and maintain an effective Illness and Injury Prevention Program that includes provisions for COVID-19 in the workplace.
Many of the requirements in the proposed permanent standard are the same as what’s currently in place. Regardless, it’s important for employers to understand the requirements to not only keep their employees safe and reduce the risk of spread in the workplace, but also to avoid fines or penalties for failing to follow the standard.
The proposed standard covers a lot of ground. Here are some of the main areas of change to be aware of:
Close contacts
For the purposes of deciding which of your workers has come into “close contact” with an employee who may have had COVID-19 while at work, the proposed standard defines close contact as sharing the same indoor space for a total of 15 minutes over a 24-hour period, regardless of if any of them were wearing face coverings.
This new definition is less specific than the current definition of being within 6 feet of the infected person, meaning that workers in the same room or sitting around the same table, regardless of distance, could be considered in close contact.
Notice Requirements
Under the proposed standard, once an employer learns that an employee was at work with COVID-19, they will be required to provide notification to other employees or independent contractors who had close contact with the infected worker “as soon as possible.” That’s different from the current requirement of notifying them within one day of learning of the infection.
It’s likely Cal/OSHA will continue using the one business day standard, as that should be ample time for an employer to receive notice of a case in the workplace and subsequently send out a notification.
Masking
There is no rule for requiring masks in the workplace, expect for staff who were infected with COVID-19. Once they can return to work, the proposed standard requires that “regardless of vaccination status, previous infection, or lack of COVID-19 symptoms, a COVID-19 case shall wear a face covering in the workplace until 10 days have passed since the date that COVID-19 symptoms began or, if the person did not have COVID-19 symptoms, from the date of their first positive COVID-19 test.”
Major Outbreak
The proposed rule defines a “major outbreak” as 20 or more employee COVID-19 cases in an exposed group. If anyone visited such a worksite during their infectious period within a 30-day period, Cal/OSHA is calling for testing and reporting.
Reporting and Record-keeping
The proposed standard keeps in place requirements that employers report a major outbreak to the local health department. It also would require employers to retain for two years confidential records of all COVID-19 cases, as well as all close contacts.
Upon request, these records would have to be provided to the local health department, the California Department of Public Health, Cal/OSHA or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Elimination of Exclusion Pay
The proposed permanent standard does not require employers to provide “exclusion pay” to employees who cannot go to work because they have COVID-19, are sick or have to isolate.
The current temporary standard requires that employers provide exclusion pay to anyone who cannot work due to COVID-19.
The Takeaway
As mentioned, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board will vote on the draft permanent standard on Sept. 15, and it’s unlikely it will make any changes to it. That means the new permanent standard will take effect Jan. 1, 2023.
With that in mind, employers should review their COVID-19 prevention program to make sure it comports with the new standard. Also, revisit your record-keeping to ensure that you comply with the record-retention rules.