On Thursday, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards (CalOSHA) Board unanimously approved additional, far-reaching workplace standards for COVID-19 hazard prevention, training, notification, and other safety measures for a broader range of employers and places of employment with limited exceptions. The notice and language of the proposed regulations can be found here. Between February and October, CalOSHA received approximately 7,700 complaints related to COVID-19 health and safety issues and, since August, has issued $1 million in COVID-19 related enforcement violations. CalOSHA will pursue regulations through the formal Emergency Rulemaking process through the Office of Administrative Law, which includes brief public notice and comment periods. This would likely result in new requirements before the end of the year. Emergency Regulations are generally not permanent unless formalized through the regular rulemaking process.
