Cal/OSHA Withdraws Revisions to Emergency Temporary Standards

On June 9, 2021, Cal/OSHA’s Standards Board withdrew the revisions to its COVID-19 prevention emergency temporary standards (“ETS”), which were expected to take effect by June 15, 2021. The Board’s decision to withdraw the revisions was made during a “meeting to consider the latest guidance regarding masking from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and California Department of Public Health (CDPH).” An email from the Department of Industrial Relations stated, “Cal/OSHA will review the new mask guidance and bring any recommended revisions to the board. The Board could consider new revisions at a future meeting, perhaps as early as the regular meeting on June 17. In the meantime, the protections adopted in November of 2020 will remain in effect.”

Although California is expected to reopen and lift some restrictions, employers must continue to follow the Cal/OSHA ETS, which was issued in November 2020.

- CA Employment Law Report