The California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the Non-Emergency COVID-19 Prevention Standard adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Standards Board in December of 2022. This new standard went into effect upon filing with the Secretary of State February 3, 2023, and is mostly the same as the expired Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), with notable exceptions including the following:
- No exclusion pay provision
- Changes to the “Close Contact” definition and response actions
The Non-Emergency COVID-19 Prevention Standard applies to most workers not covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard. Click here to see the Non-Emergency COVID-19 Prevention standard with changes from the emergency regulation. Also, Cal/OSHA has prepared a Non-Emergency COVID-19 Regulation fact sheet that identifies what employers need to know, updated their frequently asked questions (FAQ) page, and posted an updated COVID-19 Model Prevention Program that employers may utilize.
For full Non-Emergency COVID-19 Prevention Standard requirements see Title 8 sections:
- 3205 COVID-19 Prevention.
- 3205.1 Multiple COVID-19 Infection and COVID-19 Outbreaks.
- 3205.2 Major COVID-19 Outbreaks.
- 3205.3 COVID-19 Prevention in Employer-Provided Housing.
The newly implemented Non-Emergency COVID-19 Standard is intended to be a temporary/permanent standard and will remain in place two years after the effective date, except for the recordkeeping subsections that will remain in effect for three years. This two-year period will afford Cal/OSHA time to complete a General Infectious Disease Standard, which is currently under development.
PRISM will continue to monitor the OSH Standards Board and keep members informed of regulatory changes. For questions about this blog or PRISM's monitoring of COVID-19 regulations, please contact PRISM Risk Control.