{"id":6541,"date":"2022-09-16T16:05:27","date_gmt":"2022-09-16T20:05:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oshadefensereport.com\/?p=6541"},"modified":"2026-02-26T20:26:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:26:39","slug":"cal-osha-moves-closer-to-issuing-its-covid-19-non-emergency-standard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.connmaciel.com\/osha-defense-report\/cal-osha-moves-closer-to-issuing-its-covid-19-non-emergency-standard\/","title":{"rendered":"Cal\/OSHA Moves Closer to Issuing Its COVID-19 Non-Emergency Standard"},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/em><\/strong>Andrew Sommer<\/em><\/strong><\/a> and <\/em><\/strong>Megan Shaked<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In July 2022, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal\/OSHA) revealed a\u00a0proposed Permanent COVID-19 regulation<\/a>.\u00a0The draft permanent rule is intended to replace the current version of the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that is set to expire at the end of 2022.\u00a0 Here is a link to the agency\u2019s\u00a0draft regulatory text<\/a>\u00a0for the permanent rule.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>On July 29, 2022, the Standards Board issued a rulemaking notice that set both the date for a meeting of the Standards Board when the proposed COVID-19 permanent rule would be debated and discussed, as well as an official due date for written comments from interested stakeholder.\u00a0 Both of those were yesterday, September 15, 2022<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 A vote on a proposed final rule is expected in late November or December, with the rule replacing the ETS and going into effect on January 1, 2023 and continuing through December 2024.<\/p>\n

Background about the Proposed Permanent Rule <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The proposed non-emergency rule (commonly referred to as the permanent rule) would apply until 2 years after effective date, with recordkeeping requirements applying until 3 years after effective date.\u00a0 The most significant expansion in the proposal is the incorporation of the controversial new definition of \u201cclose contact\u201d from the California Department of Public Health, which now means <\/strong>\u201csomeone sharing the same indoor airspace; e.g., home, clinic waiting room, airplane etc., for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period (for example, three individual 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes) during an infected person\u2019s (laboratory-confirmed or a clinical diagnosis) infectious period.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The proposal does include some scaling back.\u00a0 For example, the proposed permanent rule no longer requires a written COVID-19 Prevention Program in the same manner that the ETS has.\u00a0 Rather, it requires addressing COVID-19 as a workplace hazard under the Injury and Illness Prevention Program standard (section 3203) (which itself requires employers establish, implement and maintain an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program).\u00a0 It also proposes to eliminate the requirement for employers to provide \u201cexclusion pay\u201d for employees isolating with confirmed cases.<\/p>\n

The proposed permanent rule does, however retaining several key provisions from the ETS:<\/p>\n