Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications & Client Services Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

With the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) scheduled to expire at the end of the year, Cal/OSHA has proposed new permanent standards.

The proposed permanent COVID-19 standards will be voted on during the December 15, 2022 Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board meeting. If passed, despite the word “permanent” being in the title, the standard will be in effect for the following two years. However, the record keeping requirements of the standard will apply for the following three years. So, with an effective date of January 1, 2023, the COVID-19 requirements can be expected to lift on January 1, 2025 and the recordkeeping requirements expected to lift on January 1, 2026.

Some proposed changes within the permanent COVID-19 standards include:

• Employer Notice Requirements - The proposed permanent standards edits what information employers need to include in exposure notices to employees and the acceptable ways in which employers must distribute those notices.

• Definition Changes - There are definition changes to what is considered a “close contact,” an “exposed group,” an “infectious period,” an “outbreak,” a “returned case,” and more.

• Removal of the Exclusion Pay Policy - Under the current ETS, employers have to provide exclusion pay before requiring employees to exhaust other forms of potential paid leave. With the new proposed standards this is eliminated and employers would only need to provide their employees with information about local and federal COVID-19 benefits.

• Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements - Employers will no longer need to keep a record of close contacts and will no longer have to report information about workplace cases and outbreaks to their local health department. However, in a major outbreak setting, employers must report the outbreak to Cal/OSHA. That being said, employers still need to be aware of their local health department’s requirements.

For a detailed look at the proposed changes please refer to Cal/OSHA’s formal proposal document.

While there appears to be few differences between the current temporary standards and the new proposed permanent standards, it is recommended for businesses to locate and review their COVID-19 Prevention Program to ensure it can be readily updated. The new proposed permanent standards removes the requirement for employers to keep a separate COVID-19 Prevention Program, as long as their Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP), includes COVID-19 policies. So even if you decide to only have an IIPP, it will still need to be updated with the latest COVID-19 procedures. Rancho Mesa has a COVID-19 Prevention Program template, that can be downloaded here.

Rancho Mesa will update its clients and readers with the status of the final rule once Cal/OSHA votes on December 15, 2022.