The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has approved emergency, temporary COVID-19 regulations under California’s Occupational Safety & Health Act. California employers must now establish specific measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in nearly every workplace in California. The emergency regulations, which the Standards Board approved on Thursday night by a unanimous vote, must first be submitted to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) for final approval. Upon submission, the OAL will have only 10 calendar days to approve or deny the proposed emergency regulations. If approved, the OAL will file the emergency regulation with the Secretary of State, and the emergency regulation will remain in effect up to 180 days. Under this timetable, the earliest date the new regulations could take effect is November 29, 2020. The emergency regulations contain detailed mandates that most employers subject to California’s Occupational Safety & Health statute must abide by in order to control, prevent, and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. For more information, read our legal update, CAL/OSHA adopts new emergency, temporary COVID-19 regulations.
