COVID nonemergency rules expire, some requirements remain

The California Department of Industrial Relations announced that most of the non-emergency standards it adopted to prevent COVID-19 expired at the start of the month.

Rules that the Division of Occupational Safety and Health adopted effective Feb. 3, 2023, were in effect for two years, with the exception of reporting and recordkeeping requirements that remain in effect for another year.

Although there is no longer a specific set of regulatory requirements relating to COVID-19 prevention, employers are still required to keep workers safe and to identify, evaluate and correct unsafe or unhealthy conditions if they determine that COVID-19 is a workplace hazard.

The agency also said employers are required to comply with certain recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

Employers must keep a record of all COVID-19 cases, including the location where the person worked, the date the person was last in the workplace and the date of a positive test or diagnosis. Employers must also provide information on COVID-19 cases to local health departments and other agencies, the agency said.

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