Fri, 12/04/2020
Cases and deaths associated with COIVD-19 have spiked everywhere in the United States, including in the State of California over the preceding month. On December 1, 2020, the state’s Office of Administrative Law granted final approval to a slate of emergency COVID-19 safety regulations. The regulations cover most employers in the state and require employers to, among other actions:
- provide COVID-19 testing to all employees in the event of three or more COVID-19 cases at the workplace within a 14-day period;
- provide free masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) to all workers;
- identify a “competent employer representative” to implement a written compliance action plan and share the plan with employees and employee representatives;
- identify specific COVID-19 hazards in the workplace and implement preventative measures to eliminate or minimize such hazards;
- require physical distancing (six feet) and mask wearing, improve ventilation, and maximize outdoor air;
- in employer-provided housing, space beds six feet apart, eliminate use of bunk beds, and disinfect daily;
- in employer-provided transportation, screen workers before boarding, and require them to sit three feet apart and wear face coverings, and
- report positive tests among their workers, and pay any employees needing to quarantine for 14 days.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (aka Cal/OSHA), which unanimously approved the regulations in November, can enforce the regulations through civil penalties that vary depending on the severity of the violation. After the regulations have been in place for 180 days, they need to either be adopted as a regular rule making action by Cal/OSHA or be extended as emergency regulations.
For more information on workers’ rights during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit MSE’s Coronavirus Information website: https://www.mselaborlaw.com/resources/coronavirus-information.
