As of February 3, 2025, most of Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Standards have officially come to an end. This marks a significant shift for California employers who have been navigating these regulations and their predecessor emergency temporary standards for the past four years.  

Despite the expiration of most obligations under this standard, employers are

Last week, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board approved an emergency temporary standard regarding respirable crystalline silica (RCS). The standard will take effect December 29, 2023.

The emergency temporary standard (ETS)comes after the California Department of Public Health issued an alert in November of worker deaths due to silicosis, which is caused by silica dust entering

On December 15, 2022, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board held its final meeting of 2022 and adopted the COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations. The COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS)will continue to remain in effect while the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) reviews the non-emergency standard.

Once approved by OAL, the non-emergency standard will remain in effect for

In early June 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued an order revising the definition of “close contact.” Under the CDPH order, close contact was defined as “someone sharing the same indoor airspace (e.g. home, clinic waiting room, airplane, etc.) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.”

On June 17, 2022, Governor Newsom issued an executive order terminating certain provisions of prior executive orders related to Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS). Some of the terminated orders were no longer necessary due to changes in the ETS. For example, previously the Governor had issued an executive order stating exclusion periods could not

The same week that California’s third round of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave went into effect, the Governor released the state’s strategy for the endemic phase of COVID-19.

Aligning with the new endemic strategy, on February 28, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued revised guidance regarding masks. Effective March 1, 2022,