New emergency worker standards set in California
The temporary standards, which require written prevention plans, will apply to most workers in the state.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (COSHB) has adopted emergency temporary standards to protect workers from COVID-19-related hazards. If the standards are approved by the Office of Administrative Law before November 30, 2020, they will be effective immediately.
Unanimously adopted by the COSHB, the temporary standards will apply to most California workers and will require employers to implement a written COVID-19 prevention plan.
The written prevention plans must include:
- A system for communicating information to employees about COVID-19 prevention procedures, testing, symptoms, and illnesses, including a system for employees to report exposures without fear of retaliation.
- Identification and evaluation of hazards: screening employees for symptoms, identifying workplace conditions and practices that could result in potential exposure.
- Investigating and responding to cases in the workplace: responding immediately to potential exposures by following steps to determine who may have been exposed, providing notice within one business day about potential exposures, and offering testing to workers who may have been exposed.
- Correcting COVID-19 hazards, including correcting unsafe conditions and work practices as well as providing effective training and instruction.
- Physical distancing: implementing procedures to ensure workers stay at least six feet apart from other people if possible.
- Face coverings: providing face coverings and ensuring they are worn.
- Adopting site-specific strategies such as changes to the workplace and work schedules and providing personal protective equipment to reduce exposure to the virus.
- Positive COVID-19 case and illness recording requirements and making the COVID-19 Prevention Plan accessible to employees and employee representatives.
- Removal of COVID-19 exposed workers and COVID-19 positive workers from the workplace with measures to protect pay and benefits.
- Criteria for employees to return to work after recovering from COVID-19.
- Requirements for testing and notifying public health departments of workplace outbreaks (three or more cases in a workplace in a 14-day period) and major outbreaks (20 or more cases within a 30-day period).
- Specific requirements for infection prevention in employer-provided housing and transportation to and from work.
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