Cal/OSHAâs controversial COVID regulation is nearing its end. General Industry Safety Orders §3205 sunsets, with one minor exception, on February 3rd. COVID has become endemic, borne out by California Department of Public Health statistics. As of January 11th, the test positivity rate was 2.6%, versus 19.7 for thâe flu and 7.5% for RSV. The fatality …
The U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has issued its conclusions on the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic and lessons that could be taken from the experience. It appears political document but some valuable information could be gleaned. The Republican-controlled subcommittee says the report âwill serve as a road map for Congress, the …
The Cal/OSHA Standards Board has denied a petition from a San Diego-area pastor to rescind the Title 8 COVID regulation. The Board says petitioner Ricardo Beas failed to support his assertions with relevant data. Perhaps more relevant, the regulation will expire in early 2025, making the petition moot. T he Division of Occupational Safety and …
Two challenges from very different perspectives seek to upend Cal/OSHAâs semi-permanent COVID-19 regulation: one challenges the reg for the abuses the petitioner says it creates, the other on legal grounds. Ricardo Beas, a San Diego-area safety manager, has petitioned the Standards Board to âconvene an emergency meeting to rescindâ in its entirely the regulation, General …
Cal/OSHAâs Division of Occupational Safety and Health is advising employers to follow new guidelines issued by the California Department of Public Health on COVID procedures in the workplace. The changes affect the definition of âinfectious periodâ and provide testing recommendations. The new definition of infectious period for the purposes of the Cal/OSHA standard, General Industry …
Employer representatives have complained long and loud about what they see as a lack of meaningful interaction with Cal/OSHAâs Division of Occupational Safety and Health during the development of health standards. Topics include silica, wildfire smoke, COVID, lead, and indoor heat illness. Lead, in particular, has been a recent focus of criticism, given the significant …
Employees and students in the University of California system can now opt out of its mRNA vaccination requirement against COVID-19. But the phrasing chosen by the university to announce the choice sound dystopian: âthe University will require students and employees either to receive or affirmatively decline COVID-19 vaccination.â But now that the policy is optional, …
The end of February marked the end of a three-year state of emergency in California brought on by Governor Gavin Newsom, which shut down the state and created vast negative economic consequences in contrast to other states. In terminating the SOE, his news release said, âthe conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons …