Cal/OSHA Announces New COVID-19 Safety Orders, Effective Nov. 30

Cal/OSHA met last week and voted on new COVID regulations for businesses in California. These new regulations go into effect on November 30 and many of them apply to the adult industry.

The Free Speech Coalition recently released an in-depth analysis of this new development. You can read some of this analysis below and on the organization’s website here.

On Thursday [November 19], the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Cal/OSHA) unanimously approved a proposal for emergency temporary standards related to COVID-19 prevention. This order applies to all California employers and affects all businesses in the adult industry that operate in California.

The approved order is expected to go into effect on November 30 and expires in 180 days. However, it can be extended for an additional 180 days while the Standards Board works on permanent regulations. 

The Standards Board will convene an Advisory Committee in December to further explore how the regulations affect employers and to consider adjustments to the regulations. Cal/OSHA will provide resources to employers regarding the implementation of the new orders.

Key Points:

— All employees are required to wear face coverings (defined as a cloth mask) while at work, except for specific tasks that can not feasibly be performed with a face covering.

— Every workplace in California is required to have a COVID Prevention Plan that can be shared with Cal/OSHA and employees upon request. 

— Any COVID-19 exposure in a California workplace needs to be investigated and documented by the employer. If there are three positive tests within a two-week period, it needs to be reported to the local health department. 

— If an employee is exposed at work, and needs to quarantine, the employer must continue to provide salary and other benefits while the person is quarantined, regardless of whether they are able to work from home.

— There are new, specific regulations about the cleaning and precautions in employee housing and transportation, which may include model houses, production houses, and drivers, if provided by the production company or studio. 

Any visitor to your set, whether an employee, contractor, or vendor, has the ability to report unsafe working conditions to Cal/OSHA. Failure to comply with the following can result in significant fines and extensive litigation.

We are providing a summary of the more significant changes [here], but every employer should consult their legal counsel in order to understand how the new regulations might apply to them and their unique workplaces, and how to best comply.

FSC will revise the Health and Safety Guidelines for Adult Film Production to comply with the new COVID-19 orders from Cal/OSHA and will hold a town hall meeting to discuss the regulations and answer questions on Friday, December 4 at 11 AM Pacific. Register here.

Read the full proposed regulation changes on the Cal/OSHA website. Review your COVID-19 Prevention Program with your employment attorney.