The following are some of the notable changes in Cal/OSHA’s non-emergency standard:
- Employers are no longer required to provide exclusion pay, though they must still provide information about COVID-19-related benefits (e., sick leave, worker’s compensation).
- Employers are required to provide testing at no cost, during paid time, to employees who had a close contact in the workplace. They are not required to provide paid testing for symptomatic employees who did not have a close contact in the workplace.
- Employers are no longer required to implement a process for screening employees for COVID-19 symptoms.
- The definition of close contacts is dependent on the size of the indoor space (threshold is 400,000 cubic feet per floor). Below the threshold, the trigger is sharing the same indoor airspace for 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. Above the threshold, the trigger is being within six feet of a COVID-19 case for 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.
- Though employers must still notify close contacts, employers are not required to record and track close contacts.
- Employers are no longer required to report cases and outbreaks to the local health department.
- Written COVID-19 procedures can be part of the Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (IIPP), though they continue being maintained in a separate document (e., COVID-19 Prevention Program).
As it did with the emergency temporary standard, Cal/OSHA may issue fact sheets and FAQs on the non-emergency standard. If and when it does, those resources can be found on Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 page here.
For more information or assistance with COVID-19 and workplace safety compliance and litigation, please reach out to your regular Pillsbury contact or the authors of this alert.