End of an Era: COVID-19 Rules Set to Sunset in February, But Some Requirements Remain
Cal/OSHA’s non-emergency COVID-19 rule requiring employers to adopt measures to address COVID-19 hazards is set to expire on February 3, 2025. However, employers must still comply with several obligations after that date. First, Cal/OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements will remain in effect until February 3, 2026. Second, Employer’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) must still be applicable to COVID-19 related hazards.
Recordkeeping Requirements
For at least the next year, employers must continue to record all COVID-19 cases with the employee’s name, contact information, occupation, location where the employee worked, the date of the last day at the workplace, and the date of the positive COVID-19 test or COVID-19 diagnosis. While this exercise will have limited utility, because the requirements to conduct contact tracing and exclude workers with COVID-19 from the worksite are expiring, employers should continue to log these COVID-19 case details over the next year.
The non-emergency rule’s recordkeeping section also required that employers “retain” notice given to employees who had a close contact, “in accordance with Labor Code section 6409.6.” Because the rule’s notice requirement is expiring and the related Labor Code provision has already expired, employers do not appear to have any ongoing obligation for providing notice to close contacts.
Cal/OSHA Injury and Illness Prevention Standard (“IIPP”)
Employers should continue to address COVID-19 hazards as necessary through their IIPP. The good news is that employers have flexibility in determining what corrective measures are necessary depending on the nature of the identified hazard. Now that COVID-19 has become endemic, employers can surely take the position that many measures taken during the pandemic are no longer necessary given the disease’s evolving outcomes. However, with flexibility comes uncertainty so some employers may remain conservative in this regard.
What to do Now
In 2025, Cal/OSHA is expected to consider a permanent infectious disease standard for most employers applying to future infectious diseases (not just COVID-19). If adopted, that standard would impose new requirements for addressing infectious diseases including COVID-19. In the meantime, we recommend California employers:
- Continue to log COVID-19 cases through February 3, 2026, as required under the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 non-emergency rules; and
- Maintain scaled-down procedures for addressing COVID-19 in the workplace consistent with the IIPP Standard’s general requirements and as appropriate in your circumstances.
Please reach out to your Stradling attorney if you have any questions, or need assistance with your businesses’ compliance with the ever changing California employment laws.
