Follow Stricter Cal/OSHA Mask Requirements
Even though state and federal public health officials have aligned their guidance regarding face coverings for people who are vaccinated, CLCA strongly encourages employers to continue to follow stricter Cal/OSHA standards.
The California Department of Public Health recently updated the state’s face covering guidance to align with the federal Centers for Disease Control guidance regarding face coverings for people who are vaccinated.
This guidance says that if fully vaccinated workers are exposed to COVID-19 at work, they do not need to quarantine so long as they are asymptomatic.
The new guidance also indicates that masks may not be required if all parties are fully vaccinated. However, employers subject to the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards must ensure that employees are following the current standards face covering and testing requirements, regardless of whether your staff is fully vaccinated. Even with recent Cal/OSHA updates protocol such as masks and physical distancing are still required.
Nonetheless, we still have a contradiction here, the California Employers Association reports.
What does this mean for employers? The ETS provides stricter requirements, so until the Governor issues an order or Cal/OSHA updates the standards, nothing changes! Cal/OSHA’s updates state that employers do not have to exclude fully vaccinated employees from the workplace following exposure (so long as they are asymptomatic). However, testing requirements, masks, physical distancing and cleaning protocol remain in place.
Additional COVID-19 compliance information is available from the California Employers Association, the voice of CLCA’s HR Hotline. VIEW >>
