December 3, 2020
COVID-19 Prevention Regulations in Effect &
New Shelter-in-Place Orders
Government Affairs Alert
COVID-19 Regulation Now in Effect:
CTA Guide & Training Manual Can Help Your Business Comply

Last week, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board unanimously adopted the COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Rule requiring, among other things, employers to implement and maintain a written COVID-19 Prevention Program, provide employees with PPE, and offer COVID-19 testing at no cost to all employees (during working hours) who had potential COVID-19 exposure in the workplace. After reviewing the proposed regulation, on Monday the Office of Administrative Law approved Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Rule, making it effective immediately. While Cal/OSHA hinted there would be delayed enforcement, the agency has not yet made any clear public statements. Employers are advised to meet the requirements of the rule at this time and document efforts towards compliance in any area where compliance is not yet feasible.
 
CTA and PCS Safety have updated the COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guide & Training Manual to ensure compliance with the requirement to implement a written COVID-19 Prevention Program. You can purchase a copy of the Guide here. Members who have already purchased the Guide from CTA will receive a complimentary revised copy today.
 
Despite extensive comments from the employer community (including CTA) about the infeasibility of the rule as drafted, the regulatory text was approved without changes. The new standard is modeled after the Industry-Specific Guidance and Employer Playbook released earlier this year and incorporates requirements from laws passed this year, such as COVID-19 paid sick leave and the employee notification requirements of AB 685.
 
The standard applies to all employees and places of employment except: 1) places of employment with one employee who does not have contact with anyone; 2) employees working from home; and 3) employees covered under the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases standard.
 
Primary employer obligations under the COVID-19 rule include:
  • Implement and Maintain a COVID-19 Prevention Program with a Training Component - This is the most detailed and prescriptive requirement under the rule. You may consider using CTA’s COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guide & Training Manual as a compliance option for this component.
  • Provide Employees with PPE - Requires employers provide employees with face coverings, goggles, face shields, gloves and other PPE as needed to prevent exposure to COVID-19; to install cleanable solid partitions at fixed sites where it is not possible to maintain physical distancing at all times; and to "maximize the quantity of outside air to the extent feasible."
  • Offer Free COVID-19 Testing - Requires employers provide COVID-19 testing at no cost to employees during their working hours to all employees who had potential COVID-19 exposure in the workplace and provide them with the information on COVID-19 related benefits.
  • Employee Exposure Notification - Employers must give written notice within one business day to employees and contractors who may have been exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace. The notification must include: 1) notice of exposure; 2) information on COVID-19 related leave, benefits and testing; and 3) information about the company's disinfection & safety protocols/COVID-19 Prevention Program. Employers must report COVID-19 cases on their Form 300 and report outbreaks (3 or more laboratory-confirmed cases within a 14-day window) to their local health department. More stringent measure are required for major outbreaks (20 or more cases within a 30-day window).
  • Leave & Earnings Obligations - Requires employers exclude COVID-19 cases from the workplace until return to work criteria is met and exclude employees with COVID-19 exposure from the workplace for 14 days after the last known COVID-19 exposure to a COVID-19 case. For employees excluded from work under this requirement and otherwise able and available to work, employers must continue and maintain an employee’s earnings, seniority, and all other employee rights and benefits, including the employee's right to their former job status, as if the employee had not been removed from their job. Employers may use employer-provided employee sick leave benefits for this purpose and consider benefit payments from public sources in determining how to maintain earnings, rights and benefits, where permitted by law and when not covered by workers’ compensation.
  • Requirements for Employer-Provided Housing & Employer-Provided Transportation to/from Workplace - Requires employers implement specific physical distancing protocol and disinfection/cleaning practices for employer-provided housing and employer-provided transportation to/from the workplace.
 
Cal/OSHA prepared these FAQs to assist with compliance. Cal/OSHA is expected to hold an advisory committee in January, which will give the business community another chance to push for revisions to the rule; this means we may see amendments to the rule in the next few months. CTA will update membership on any changes to the rule.
 
As mentioned above, CTA has updated its COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guide & Training Manual to ensure compliance with the written prevention plan component of the emergency rule. You can purchase a copy of the Guide here. Members who have already purchased the Guide from CTA will receive a complimentary revised copy today.
 
As a reminder, CTA still has a limited supply of complimentary PPE available, which you can order here.
New Shelter-in-Place Orders Issued Today:
Essential Workers Still Exempt

At a press conference this afternoon, Governor Newsom announced the introduction of a new, regional three week stay-at-home order that is contingent on ICU capacity.

The Regional Stay Home Order will go into effect within 48 hours in regions with less than 15% ICU availability. It prohibits private gatherings of any size, closes sector operations except for critical infrastructure and retail, and requires 100% masking and physical distancing in all others.

The order will remain in effect for at least 3 weeks and, after that period, will be lifted when a region’s projected ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15%. This will be assessed on a weekly basis after the initial 3 week period.

Please note, essential businesses and workers will remain exempt.

While it is not required, and law/code enforcement is aware of the critical infrastructure sectors, you may carry with you this letter as proof of essential worker status.