June 17, 2021, the California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board (OSHSB) approved revisions to Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) for non-health care workplaces. (We summarized the original ETS here and reported on the related FAQs here.) The OSHSB will now send the proposal to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL)…
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The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released an emergency temporary rule to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) for employers that provide health care services. The new rule applies to most employers that provide health care services or health care support services. OSHA has published a helpful…
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On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) revised its online publication, What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws, clarifying and building on its prior vaccination guidance (see our prior reporting on that guidance here). Although the EEOC didn’t…
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On May 18, 2021, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department issued an order that requires businesses in the county to check all workers’ COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccination status. The order took effect on May 19, 2021. For anyone who isn’t fully vaccinated, you must check back at least every 14 days to see if…
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On May 18, 2021, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance requiring employers in unincorporated areas of the county to provide up to four hours of paid leave to employees who need time off related to receiving the COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccine. The ordinance took effect immediately but…
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On May 28, 2021, Washington's Departments of Labor & Industries (L&I) and Health updated the existing COVID-19 (coronavirus) safety rules for temporary worker housing (TWH) in the agriculture industry to lift certain restrictions for fully vaccinated workers. These revisions coincide with updated agriculture workplace requirements issued by Governor Jay Inslee, adding exceptions for fully vaccinated…
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Question: If our state is “reopened” for business, do we still have to comply with quarantine requirements after an employee is exposed to someone with COVID-19 (coronavirus)? What if the employee is fully vaccinated? Answer: The lifting of restrictions on businesses’ ability to operate is separate from your obligation as an employer to comply with…
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The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently updated its guidance on COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccines to state that it won’t enforce recordkeeping requirements for worker side effects from mandatory vaccines through May 2022. As we previously reported, OSHA had stated that side effects resulting from employer-mandated COVID-19 vaccines may be…
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On May 21, 2021, Governor Jay Inslee issued Proclamation 21-08 “Safe Workers,” which prohibits Washington employers from taking any adverse employment action as a result of a worker receiving a COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccine or needing time off related to the worker’s own COVID-19 vaccination, exposure, or illness. Time off to take a family member…
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On May 21, 2021, Governor Jay Inslee and the Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) announced new workplace mask options in line with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)’s May 13, 2021, guidance, which said people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (coronavirus) generally don’t need to wear masks or physically…
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