Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) – Cal/OSHA Update

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) established the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) to create a uniform set of rules for COVID-19 prevention and outbreak mitigation in the workplace. The ETS required employers to draft a written COVID-19 prevention plan that dictated when face coverings must be worn in the workplace, when testing must occur, and when employees should be excluded from the workplace due to infection or close contact with an infected employee.

On December 15, 2022, Non-Emergency COVID-19 Prevention Regulations were adopted and will become effective in the month of January 2023 once approved by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). The ETS will remain in effect until the OAL replaces it with a "permanent" regulation. Once approved, the permanent regulation will be in effect for two years.