For the second time, the standards-setting board for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health ("Cal/OSHA") has readopted, with revisions, the agency's COVID-19 Prevention.
For the second time, the standards-setting board for Cal/OSHA has readopted the agency’s COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards. The revised ETS become effective on January 14, 2022, and impose new obligations on nearly all employers in California.
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On February 25, 2021, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan
Schulman denied applications for preliminary
injunctions in their entirety requested by two plaintiffs, thus
leaving in place the California Division of Occupational Safety and
Health s (Cal/OSHA) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary
Standards (ETS). The ETS took effect on November 30,
2020.
Judge Schulman found that the plaintiffs had not met their
burden of showing that they would likely prevail on the merits of
the case. He concluded that Cal/OSHA s Occupational Safety and
Health Standards Board had the authority to promulgate the ETS
San Francisco Judge Denies Injunctive Relief Allowing Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards to Remain in Place Friday, March 5, 2021
On February 25, 2021, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman denied applications for preliminary injunctions in their entirety requested by two plaintiffs, thus leaving in place the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS). The ETS took effect on November 30, 2020.
Judge Schulman found that the plaintiffs had not met their burden of showing that they would likely prevail on the merits on the case. He concluded that Cal/OSHA’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board had the authority to promulgate the ETS because the COVID-19 pandemic had created an emergency. The judge held that the court was required to accord “substantial deference” to the agency’s finding of an emergency, and he declined to “second-guess” the Standards Boa
Friday, January 22, 2021
In November, California quietly approved the Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (“Cal OSHA”) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). Almost immediately, Cal OSHA’s ETS caused significant confusion and challenges for employers, who were already struggling with countless federal, state, and local requirements pertaining to COVID-19. Cal OSHA’s ETS also appeared to create new and different notification obligations for COVID-19 cases than those already provided for under AB 685 and standing health officer orders, and imposed confusing obligations on employers related to COVID-19 testing, work exclusions, and reporting of COVID-19 cases.
In places, Cal OSHA’s ETS could also be viewed as requiring inconsistent response measures to those recommended under current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and standing health officer orders. Moreover, the ETS require preventive measures wit