CalOSHA updated its Emergency Temporary Standards and the associated FAQs earlier this week:
Q.4: How does CDPH’s February 28, 2022 Guidance for the Use of Face Masks impact the ETS requirements?
A: Executive Order N-5-22 suspends section 3205(c)(6)(A) of the ETS, which required that unvaccinated workers wear face coverings in all indoor workplaces and all vehicles. This requirement will no longer be enforced. However, other face covering requirements within the ETS remain in place, including provisions requiring face coverings in outbreaks and in employer-provided transportation. Also still in place is section 3205(c)(6)(B), which requires that employers provide face coverings and ensure they are worn when required by orders from the CDPH. In addition, employees can request face coverings from the employer at no cost to the employee and can wear them at work, regardless of vaccination status, without fear of retaliation, as specified in section 3205(c)(5)(J).
In addition, the February 28, 2022 masking order from the CDPH requires that all workers in the following sectors wear face coverings indoors:
- Indoors in K-12 schools, childcare (through March 11, 2022)
- On public transit (examples: airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and ride-shares) and in transportation hubs (examples: airport, bus terminal, marina, train station, seaport or other port, subway station, or any other area that provides transportation)
- Emergency shelters and cooling and heating centers
- Healthcare settings (applies to all healthcare settings, including those that are not covered by the State Health Officer Order issued on July 26, 2021)
- State and local correctional facilities and detention centers
- Homeless shelters
- Long Term Care Settings & Adult and Senior Care Facilities
Gee, thanks CalOSHA! So . . . if an employer requires masks inside for the unvaccinated, there will be push-back. And if an individual contracts COVID . . . welp, the employer can pay the California Paid Sick Leave! Rassafrassa.
(Employers can still choose to require masks for unvaccinated, or all . . . FYI).
California Employment Law Blog 