With the continuing spread of COVID-19, a new emergency temporary standard (ETS) protecting employees in most worksites was approved by Cal-OSHA recently. Schools were generally excluded from similar regulations previously. This new ETS extends an existing safety standard for medical and emergency responders to most workplaces, including schools.
In implementing the ETS in your workplace, you will need to apply the requirements to your current Illness and Injury Prevention Plan (IIPP), by creating procedures to identify and evaluate COVID-19 hazards, control exposure risks, and respond to potential employee COVID-19 exposures and infections. You will also need to train your staff to comply with the ETS. We have developed a more detailed summary of the Cal-OSHA ETS in our recent Briefing.
"Cal-OSHA requires all employers to develop written COVID-19 Prevention Plans."
The ETS applies to all employees and places of employment, regardless of size. However, it does not apply to employees working from home or to workplaces with only one employee having no contact with other persons. The standards require employers to develop a written COVID-19 prevention plan which you can integrate into your current IIPP. This plan must include:
- Communications for soliciting employees reports of symptoms, possible exposures and hazards and notifying employees of hazards, workplace accommodations and testing.
- Identifying and evaluating COVID-19 hazards and procedures for mitigation and compliance.
- Investigation and response to COVID-19 cases.
- Correction of COVID-19 hazards.
- Training and instruction to all employees on your COVID-19 policies and procedures.
- Steps for facilitating physical distancing.
- Employer-provided face coverings for all indoor workplaces.
- Other controls and personal protective equipment.
- Reporting, recordkeeping and access.
Additional employer obligations are spelled out in the ETS for defined “outbreaks” and “major outbreaks” at a workplace. These requirements include steps for testing of exposed employees at no cost during work hours; investigation, review and hazard correction; and notifying the local health department. Major outbreaks require more frequent testing and increased hazard correction, as well as consideration of halting operations at the workplace until hazards have been corrected.
You can find the entire ETS here. The Department of Industrial Relations has release additional guidance, including Frequently Asked Questions and a Model COVID-19 Prevention Plan.