Cal/OSHA adopts sweeping COVID-19 prevention regulation

On November 30, 2020, the Office of Administrative Law approved the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA) Emergency COVID-19 Prevention Regulation, which became effective immediately. The regulation requires employers to adopt a COVID-19 prevention program and addresses multiple COVID-19 infections and outbreaks, major COVID-19 outbreaks, and COVID-19 prevention in employer-provided housing and transportation to and from work. This article focuses on employers’ obligations to implement a compliant COVID-19 prevention program. Employers must take immediate action to comply with the new regulation.

COVID-19 prevention program

Under the regulation, employers must establish, implement, and maintain an effective, written COVID-19 prevention program, which may be integrated into their injury and illness prevention program or kept in a separate document. Some of the elements include:

Communication of COVID-19 policies and procedures. A key component of the prevention program is communicating COVID-19 policies and procedures to employees. You must (1) ask employees to notify you about symptoms, possible exposures, and possible hazards in the workplace, (2) establish policies for accommodating workers with medical or other conditions that put them at increased risk of severe coronavirus infection, and (3) provide information about access to testing and hazards.