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ARTICLE · 23 JUNE 2021

Finally! Cal/OSHA Approves Revised Emergency Temporary Standard

Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Seyfarth Synopsis: Following a rollercoaster ride that lasted for weeks, and culminated in another 4.5 hour long marathon meeting, on June 17, 2021, Cal/OSHA finally approved a revised version of its Emergency Temporary Standard ("ETS").

United StatesEmployment and HR
Daniel R. Birnbaum
Daniel R. Birnbaum
Coby Turner
Coby Turner
Elisabeth C. Watson
Elisabeth C. Watson
Patrick Joyce
Patrick Joyce
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Seyfarth Synopsis: Following a rollercoaster ride that lasted for weeks, and culminated in another 4.5 hour long marathon meeting, on June 17, 2021, Cal/OSHA finally approved a revised version of its Emergency Temporary Standard ("ETS"). While the revised ETS aligns closer to guidance issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC") and California Department of Public Health ("CDPH") with regards to face coverings, it still includes many controversial provisions relating to documenting employee's vaccination status, providing approved respirators upon request for voluntary use, testing, and exclusion pay, amongst others.

Overview

As we have previously written about at length, Cal/OSHA's ETS has endured a long road to adoption. Following withdrawal of an initial revision of the ETS that was nearly universally panned, Cal/OSHA issued new revisions on June 11, 2021. Cal/OSHA preemptively issued FAQs, available here, acknowledging that the new

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