Changes to Workplace Regulations: COVID and Cal/OSHA
Sent 6/15/2021
Valued MSJC Employees:
As you may have heard in the news, Governor Newsome has “opened” our state as of today, June 15th allowing many activities to take place without mandated masks and social distancing However, since the workplace in California is governed by Cal/OSHA regulations – employees may not take masks off at work just yet Changes are coming – we promise!
Currently masks are still required in the workplace until Cal/OSHA approves their updated emergency regulations related to COVID and their waiting period (usually 10 days to 2 weeks) has passed. Once the new regulations have been approved, they will go into effect after the waiting period. This is the case unless the Governor intervenes and mandates changes in regulations be implemented sooner. At this time, we don’t know if that will happen, but we are anticipating the end of June at the earliest for these proposed changes to be finalized. Cal/OSHA votes on the proposed updated emergency regulations this week - on 6/17/21. We will keep you informed when these changes are implemented for employees.
Until notice is provided from Human Resources, masks are still required in the workplace, regardless of vaccination status. Once we are given authority, we will update our guidance and inform employees as soon as possible. HR and Risk Management are working together to establish an orderly process to verify vaccination status. Some employees have proactively provided their vaccination cards for verification, but we will still need to collect this information from those employees who have not provided this information already. We will update all employees shortly with the process for verification. Please stay tuned for further information early next week. We appreciate your patience as we quickly work through this critical and welcomed change in regulations.
Some of the important key highlights to the proposed emergency regulations are as follows:
- Employers are required to verify full vaccination status for any employee going without a mask
- Employers must enforce mask wearing for any non-vaccinated employees or any employee who has not provided verification of their fully vaccinated status
- Unvaccinated employees are required to wear a mask until the remainder of the emergency orders are lifted (or expire), or until the employee has been fully vaccinated
We truly appreciate your cooperation and patience in continuing to keep our workplaces safe for everyone. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Jeannine Stokes and the COVID Taskforce.