Health care workers in California can take a breath of fresh air. The California Department of Public Health announced that the statewide Covid-19 related mask mandates will expire on April 3, 2023.Read more
Category Archives: Covid-19
Change in Definition of Close Contact
What is the change?
The California Department of Public Health has issued an order changing its definition of “close contact” with regard to notifying potentially impacted employees of their exposure to a COVID-19 positive person in the workplace. Effective immediately, “close contact” is now defined as either:Read more
Testing Requirements Rescinded for Health Care Personnel in California
For the past year, the California Department of Public Health has mandated that all health care personnel in healthcare facilities be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they document that they have religious or medical grounds for an exemption. Read more
COVID-19 Regulations For California Businesses Have Not All Gone Away – There is a 3rd Revision to Cal/OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standards
Summary
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) recently approved the third readoption of the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (the “new ETS”). The new ETS took effect on May 7, 2022, and will remain in effect until December 31, 2022, when Cal/OSHA is expected to replace it with a permanent standard. The majority of the new ETS has not changed. However, the new ETS includes changes in line with the state’s recent direction of relaxing restrictions, and is more aligned with California Department of Public Health (CDPH) guidance.Read more
CDPH and LA County Relax Indoor Mask Mandate for Fully Vaccinated Persons
The CDPH and Los Angeles County have updated their rules to allow fully vaccinated persons to enter indoor businesses without wearing masks under certain circumstances.Read more
The Return of Statewide Covid-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave and the End of the Statewide Mask Mandate
It’s been a busy week at the Governor’s office …
1. The return of statewide COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave
On February 9, 2022, Governor Newsom signed SB-114, which brings back COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (“SPSL”) through September 30, 2022.
When will the bill take effect?
New Developments With OSHA’s Vaccine-Or-Test Mandate for Large Employers
On November 9, 2021, we discussed developments with the new federal OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard for employers with 100+ employees. In that post, we explained how the ETS required such employers to ensure their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing, and noted that the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit had granted a temporary nationwide stay of the ETS, meaning that the ETS could not be enforced.
Since November 9, new developments have come thick and fast: Read more