Ag Alert June 9, 2021

Employers criticize revised COVID-19 work rules ByKevinHecteman

Social distancing and partitions will no longer be required for peopleworking indoors or large outdoor events, if N95 respirators are provided to unvaccinated people, who can decide for themselves whether to use them. After July 31, the social-distancing guidelines go away but employers must still provide N95s for unvaccinated peo- ple who want them. During an online meeting last week,

the Standards Board of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, initially rejected the revised standard. But it reversed its position after realizing that would mean the original ETS fromNovember 2020— which required masking and social dis- tancing at all times—would remain in effect even as the state moves toward an anticipated June 15 reopening. A board subcommittee will consider potential revisions in light of concerns raised at the meeting by the California FarmBureau andother employer groups. An earlier revision of the standard was considered last month but was sent back for more work amid concerns that it failed to recognize updated guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which stated that fully vaccinated people can forgo wearing amask with limited exceptions, such as while traveling on airplanes or public transportation. Bryan Li tt le, director of employ- ment policy for the California Farm Bureau and chief operating officer of the Farm Employers Labor Service, said events are simply moving too fast for the standards board and Cal/OSHA to keep up. He said the ETS should be abolished entirely. “The regulatory process that led to the existing standard clearly illustrat- ed that any regulatory action would be obsolete on the day it became ef- fective, and would become more so with the passage of time,” Little testi- fied. “It’s simply not possible for the board and the agency to promulgate improved regulat ions and amend- ments quickly enough to adjust to this ever-changing situation.” After the meeting, Little noted that the original November 2020 ETS does not mention vaccines. The revision does make allowances for vaccines, he said, but it requires 100% of the people in a given indoor space must be vaccinated, or all of them will have to wear masks. “Why would you impose that kind of a requirement to get out fromunder some of the regulatory requirements of the ETS, when we’re struggling to get past 70% vaccination rates?” Little asked. “You’re in effect making an employer responsible for forcing their employees to get vaccinated.” Little also said that while N95 use among unvaccinated employees is voluntary, supplying the much-in- demand respi rators i s mandator y for employers. Complicating the issue is that em- ployers with outdoor workplaces must supply N95 respirators when wildfire smoke leads to hazardous air quality, and the indoor requirement will im- pinge on that supply. “Requi r ing indoor employers to prov ide respi rators under volun- tary-use rules wi l l require them to stockpi le massive numbers of res- See RULES, Page 24

employees in a room are fully vacci- nated and do not have symptoms of COVID-19. People working outdoors, vaccinated and otherwise, won’t need masks unless they’re working an out- door event with more than 10,000 peo- ple in attendance. To meet the emer- gency temporary standard, or ETS, employers will be required to maintain documentation of employees’ vaccina- tion status.

Emergency state COVID-19 stan- dards have been readopted in revised form—leaving agricultural employ- ers scrambl ing to comply even as California moves toward retiring its color-coded tier system and reopening by next week. Under the revised guidelines, em- ployees working indoors will still be requi red to wear masks unless al l

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4 Ag Alert June 9, 2021