The California Office of Administrative Law has approved the California Division of Occupational Health and Safety’s (Cal/OSHA) COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations (Non-Emergency Regulations). As a result, on February 3, 2023, Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) expired, and the Non-Emergency Regulations went into effect.

Although extending many of the ETS requirements, as we previously reported, the Non-Emergency Regulations contain some notable changes. A redline comparing the Non-Emergency Regulations to the ETS is available here. Some important changes include:

  • Eliminating exclusion pay for employees excluded from the workplace as a result of COVID-19;
  • Providing greater flexibility and control over including COVID-19 in required written Injury and Illness Prevention Programs;
  • Reducing COVID-19 training and testing obligations;
  • Eliminating the requirement to report COVID-19 cases and outbreaks to local health departments unless requested or required to do so by law;
  • Adding new ventilation improvement obligations for employers;
  • Modifying certain recordkeeping requirements;
  • Aligning employer notice obligations with those outlined in California Labor Code § 6409.6 (which, as previously discussed, was amended last year by AB 2693 in several significant ways); and
  • Aligning the definition of “close contact” in the Non-Emergency Regulations with that used by the Department of Public Health (including as amended in the future).

Except for recordkeeping requirements, the Non-Emergency Regulations will remain in effect until February 3, 2025. The Non-Emergency Regulations’ recordkeeping requirements will remain effective until February 3, 2026.

To help employers comply with the Non-Emergency Regulations, Cal/OSHA also published new guidance on February 3, including an updated COVID-19 Model Prevention Program and a revised set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), which the agency continues to update. The FAQs are robust and include more than 60 questions and answers covering a range of topics, such as face coverings, testing, training, vaccines, recordkeeping, and reporting.

We are continuing to monitor Cal/OSHA for further guidance.  For now, California employers should work with counsel to review and assess what modifications, if any, they should make to existing COVID-19 Prevention Programs and policies in light of the Non-Emergency Regulations.

***

Alexandria Adkins, a Law Clerk – Admission Pending (not admitted to the practice of law) in the firm’s New York office, contributed to the preparation of this post.

Back to Workforce Bulletin Blog

Search This Blog

Blog Editors

Authors

Related Services

Topics

Archives

Jump to Page

Subscribe

Sign up to receive an email notification when new Workforce Bulletin posts are published:

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.