Complying with Cal-OSHA's COVID-19 regulation, 3205

Effective November 30, 2020, Cal-OSHA enacted a new COVID-19 regulation, 3205. This 21-page, 5-part regulation has employers scrambling to both interpret and implement the required virus mitigation strategies.

To complicate matters, Governor Newsom issued an Executive Order on November 14th, 2020 changing several elements of the new regulation to match the new CDC guidelines. These include exclusions in the workplace, quarantine timeframes and utilizing tests to determine an employee’s return to work status.

Here is an overview of the new Cal-OSHA regulation.

3205, FIVE PARTS:

  1. 3205: COVID Prevention. Applicable to all California employers.

  2. 3205.1: Multiple COVID Infections and COVID-19 Outbreaks. Applies when there are three or more cases within 14-days.

  3. 3205.2: Major COVID-19 Outbreaks. Applies when there are 20 or more cases in a workplace within a 30-day period.

  4. 3205.3: Prevention in Employer-Provided Housing.

  5. 3205.4: Prevention in Employer-Provided Transportation to and from Work.

 PART 1, ELEVEN ELEMENTS:

  1. System for communicating

  2. Identification and evaluation of COVID-19 hazards

  3. Investigating and responding to COVID-19 cases in the workplace

  4. Correction of COVID-19 hazards

  5. Training and instruction

  6. Physical distancing

  7. Face coverings

  8. Other engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment

  9. Reporting, recordkeeping, and access

  10. Exclusion of COVID-19 cases

  11. Return to work criteria

To help employers with managing this regulation, ESM has prepared several tools employers can utilize for auditing their existing policies, training and compliance status. Most importantly, employers should make a “good faith” effort to implement these elements and maintain documentation as proof of those efforts.

The programs listed below are available for download in the INSITE 3205 Learning Plan.
Not a subscriber? Click here to subscribe.

3205 Audit Checklist
(Employer Compliance)

Exposure Control Plan
(Construction & General Industry)

COVID-19 Acknowledgement Form
(Employee Training)

Cal-OSHA 3205 Overview
(Webinar Training Available in INSITE)

 
 

UPDATE: DECEMBER 14, 2020 Executive Order

Governor Newsom’s December 14th, 2020 Executive Order helped to reduce the confusion from the conflicting CDC guidelines versus the new 3205 regulation. The changes include:

  1. Reducing the quarantine timeframe from 14 days to 10 days

  2. Providing that employers can discontinue an employee’s quarantine period WITH or WITHOUT a negative test.

“All asymptomatic close contacts (within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period) may discontinue quarantine after Day 10 from the date of last exposure with or without testing.”

For more information on this executive order, visit the CDPH website or the CDC website

For a comprehensive and continually updated COVID-19 compliance program, click below to subscribe to ESM’s INSITE portal. Discounted pricing through 2020. Click below to subscribe for your COVID-19 Compliance Library and more.

 

COVID-19, OSHAAnthony Poston, ARM, AIMcovid, cal-oshaComment