Memorandum
Date: July 18, 2023
To: The Honorable Jessica Pyska, Chair, Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Lloyd Guintivano, County Counsel
Prepared by: Rick Ensley, Risk Analyst - County Counsel/ Risk Division
Subject: Approve Amendments to the County of Lake COVID-19 Public Health
Emergency Worksite Protocol and Amendments to Chapter 14 of the County
of Lake Policies and Procedures
Executive Summary:
Staff submits for your Board’s consideration updates to the COVID-19 Emergency Worksite Protocol to address recent updates in COVID-19 regulations from the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board.
On December 15, 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Board) voted to adopt non-emergency COVID-19 prevention regulations (Non-Emergency Regulations). Approved by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL), these regulations took effect on February 3rd, 2023, and will remain in effect for two years after the effective date, except for the recordkeeping requirements remaining in effect for three years.
Changes from the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) model:
• No exclusion pay. Employers are no longer required to pay employees while they are excluded from the workplace. Instead, upon excluding an employee, employers must provide employees with information regarding COVID-19 related benefits that they may be entitled to under federal, state, or local laws; the employer’s own leave policies; or other available leave.
• No standalone COVID-19 Prevention Plan. Employers are no longer required to maintain a standalone COVID-19 Prevention Plan. Now, employers must address COVID-19 as a workplace hazard under their Injury and Illness Prevention Program or in a separate document and include procedures to prevent COVID-19 in the workplace.
When determining measures to prevent COVID-19 transmission and to identify and correct COVID-19 hazards, employers must:
§ Consider all persons to be potentially infectious;
§ Review applicable guidance from the State of California and local health department and treat COVID-19 as an airborne infectious disease;
§ Provide effective COVID-19 hazard prevention training;
§ Develop effective methods for responding to COVID-19 cases, including excluding employees from the workplace and providing information regarding COVID-19 related benefits to which the employee may be entitled under applicable federal, state, or local laws.
§ Investigate COVID-19 cases and certain employees after close contact;
§ Record and track all COVID-19 cases for at least two years.
• Report “major” outbreaks (20 cases) to Cal/OSHA. Employers will no longer be required to report outbreaks to the local health department.
Changes, Modifications, or Continuances of Definitions Include:
§ “Close contact” is now updated to align with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) definition <https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Order-of-the-State-Public-Health-Officer-Beyond-Blueprint.aspx>. See page 8 of the revised COVID-19 Worksite Protocol & Prevention Program.
§ “Exposed group” now includes employer-provided transportation and employees residing within employer-provided housing.
Continuation from ETS. With some slight modification, the below provisions from the ETS continue as part of the Non-Emergency Regulations:
• Testing. Employers must make testing available at no cost to employees following close contact. Notably, the ETS was more burdensome as employers had to provide COVID-19 testing for symptomatic employees even if they did not have close contact in the workplace.
• Notice. Employers must notify affected employees of COVID-19 in the workplace. Slightly different than the ETS, the Non-Emergency Regulation requires that this notice be made “as soon as possible” versus the ETS’ requirement within one business day.
• Face Coverings. Employers must provide face coverings when required by CDPH and respirators upon request.
• Reporting and recordkeeping. Employers must record and track all COVID-19 cases and report any employee deaths, injuries, or illnesses as required by Cal/OSHA’s reporting requirements under subsection § 342(a).
• Exclusion. Employers must exclude COVID-19 cases.
• Ventilation. Employers must review CDPH and Cal/OSHA guidance to develop, implement, and maintain effective methods to prevent COVID-19 transmission by improving ventilation. The Non-Emergency Regulation is slightly more onerous than the ETS as it requires employers to either maximize the supply of outside air to the extent feasible, use the highest level of filtration efficiency compatible with their existing ventilation system or at least as protective as MERV-13, or use high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration units.
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Recommended Action:
Staff recommends the following: a) Approve amendments to the County of Lake COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Worksite Protocol, now known as the COVID-19 Non-Emergency Worksite Protocol & Prevention Program, and b) Approve amendments to Chapter 14 of the County of Lake Policies and Procedures by adding the COVID-19 Non-Emergency Worksite Protocol & Prevention Program as part of Section 2 - County of Lake Injury and Illness Prevention Program, and direct staff to continue to return with future amendments to the protocol on an as-needed basis.