In June 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) updated its definition of “close contact” to refer to individuals who share the same indoor airspace, replacing the previous “six-foot rule.” This revised definition leaves employers with large facilities with more questions than answers.
On October 14, 2022, CDPH further updated the definition of “close
The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health has again issued a revised Public Health Order (Order) that significantly narrows Los Angeles County’s mask mandate, effective March 4, 2022. As explained in the Order, the updates are largely aimed at relaxing masking requirements to align with Executive Order N-5-22 and California Department of Public Health guidance issued February 28, 2022.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has issued a revised Health Order (“Order”) that makes important changes to Los Angeles County’s mask mandate, effective February 25, 2022. The major revisions are summarized below:
New Options Available to Establishments: Operators of “[a]ll indoor public settings, venues, gatherings, and public and private businesses” may choose to allow fully vaccinated persons ages 5 and older to choose to be exempt from the indoor masking requirement under one of the two options below:
On December 3, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected, without analysis, the Biden administration’s request to expedite the briefing schedule on the issue of whether to dissolve an injunction from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which stayed enforcement of Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s vaccine Emergency
On November 16, 2021, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation randomly assigned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to hear legal challenges to the vaccine emergency temporary standard (ETS) issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The ETS, affecting employers with 100 or more employees, is summarized here.
On November 12, 2021, a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 22-page order reaffirming the initial stay of a vaccine emergency temporary standard (ETS) issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The ETS, affecting employers with 100 or more employees, is summarized here. The three-judge panel determined that OSHA did not have legal authority to issue the ETS. Among other concerns stated in the decision, the panel determined that OSHA’s mandate did not meet the high bar to issue an emergency standard because it had not sufficiently established a grave danger. Also, the panel found that the ETS’s vaccine or testing requirements were overbroad (by setting forth a standard requirement for workplaces regardless of the specific hazards present in individual workplaces) and underinclusive (by exempting many vulnerable workers in workplaces with fewer than 100 employees). Based on these and other legal infirmities, the panel held that the challenges to the ETS were likely to succeed on the merits, which supported the request for a stay. The panel also stated that the ETS would remain stayed pending adequate judicial review of the request for a permanent injunction and ordered OSHA to take no steps to implement or enforce the ETS until further court order.
On October 7, 2021, Mayor London Breed and the San Francisco Department of Public Health announced that the city will relax indoor face mask requirements in certain settings if hospitalization rates remain stable or decline. The change will take effect October 15, 2021. Read the announcement.
On August 3, 2021, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his plan to require both workers and customers to have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to participate in indoor dining, indoor fitness, and indoor entertainment. Individuals will be able to provide proof of vaccination status using a “Key to
Seven Bay Area counties and the City of Berkeley issued Health Orders mandating mask use for indoor public spaces such as places of work. The Orders apply to both vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals. However, the Orders provide exceptions for individuals working alone in a closed office space, individuals that are eating or drinking, and individuals specifically exempted by the California Department of Public Health guidance such as individuals with medical conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask. The indoor mask mandates are effective August 3, 2021 and will continue to be in effect until rescinded. If your company has business in any of these locations, please review each applicable order for detailed information.
Note that in the workplace, workers must also follow Cal/OSHA mask requirements. Please consult with legal counsel for questions related to the Health Orders or Cal/OSHA.
The links to the relevant Health Orders are included below:
On June 3, 2021, California’s Occupational Safety & Healthy Standards Board approved significant revisions to the initial COVID-19-related Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) originally implemented on November 19, 2020 (see Perkins Coie’s previous blog post here). The amended regulations can be found here and will likely become effective on June 15, 2021, pending review by the California Office of Administrative Law—to be completed within 10 days—and will stay in place for 180 days.