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