Information contained in this publication is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinion, nor is it a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney.
Nearly all of the substantive provisions of Cal/OSHA’s non-emergency COVID-19 regulation expired on Monday, February 3, 2025. The event marked a significant end point to the regulatory journey that began on November 19, 2020, when California became the first jurisdiction to enact general workplace regulations specifically addressing COVID-19. California’s detailed COVID-19 requirements remained in effect much longer than those of any other jurisdiction, most of which already expired more than a year ago. Despite the expiration of nearly all of the COVID-19 non-emergency regulation, employers should remain attentive to their ongoing workplace safety duties.
General Duty, IIPP, and Recording/Reporting Duties Remain
The general duty for employers to take reasonable steps to provide a workplace that is safe from known hazards did not expire with the COVID-19 regulation. Should an employer become aware of a situation that presents the possibility of a tangible COVID-19 hazard in the workplace, a vigilant and flexible approach can be usefully maintained to determine situation-specific responses. Parts of the “old” requirements and other archival guidance and related materials1 could be useful as practical tools in some situations, particularly if an employer were to experience numerous COVID-19 cases arising within a short period at a single work location. Despite the expiration of direct requirements to provide exposure notifications, exceptional circumstances could still arise in which it might be reasonable and appropriate to consider informing employees about a situation the employer knows about (subject to the same confidentiality considerations that applied when such notices were mandatory)
Moreover, an employer’s obligation to identify workplace hazards, implement measures to correct those hazards, provide comprehensive employee training on safety procedures, investigate workplace injuries and illnesses, and maintain accurate records of workplace injuries and illness under California’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) regulation did not expire. Thus, if an employer identifies COVID-19 as a workplace hazard, it must identify, evaluate, and correct any unhealthy conditions, or unsafe work practices or procedures associated with COVID-19. Likewise, the recording/reporting obligations under 300, 300A and 301 logs/reports did not expire. Such obligations will still apply when any work-related illness or injury leads to any of the qualifying criteria2 to trigger obligations under those long-standing provisions.
Additionally, subsection (j) of the COVID-19 non-emergency regulation remains in effect for one additional year, until February 3, 2026. On February 5, 2025, Cal/OSHA updated its website to include the following summary of these continuing obligations:
It requires that the employer keep a record of and track all COVID-19 cases with the employee's name, contact information, occupation, location where the employee worked, the date of the last day at the workplace, and the date of the positive COVID-19 test and/or COVID-19 diagnosis. These records must be retained for two years beyond the period in which the record is necessary to meet the requirements of this section. It also requires that information on COVID-19 cases be provided to the local health department with jurisdiction over the workplace, CDPH, the Division, and NIOSH immediately upon request, and when required by law.
What’s Next?
Despite the expiration of most of the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 non-emergency regulation, employers should remain attentive to good workplace safety policies and practices, and work with their counsel to ensure compliance with continuing obligations.
Employers should also be aware that there is ongoing work at both Cal/OSHA and federal OSHA toward the creation of a general infectious disease standard.3 While it remains unclear whether or when either agency might actually complete all of the steps required to establish such a rule, both agencies have recently reiterated their desire to do so.
Littler will remain directly engaged to assist employers as they navigate their compliance challenges and will continue to keep employers informed about new developments on the compliance horizon.
See Footnotes
1 When Cal/OSHA updated the main COVID-19 page of its website on February 5, 2025, it included links to such resources and recommended them as potential resources. Employers may exercise scrutiny to evaluate whether information contained in some of them no longer conforms to current general public health understanding or related guidance.
2 Such criteria include: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, and significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed healthcare professional.
3 On January 15, 2025, federal OSHA formally withdrew its earlier-proposed COVID rule specific to healthcare and explained that it intended to pursue a general infectious disease standard. On January 16, 2025, Cal/OSHA’s deputy chief stated on the record at the monthly Standards Board meeting that the agency was continuing work on an internal draft that was not yet ready for dissemination to the public for discussion purposes, but was anticipated to be released sometime during 2025.
4 Whether and how federal OSHA might pursue this rulemaking may be directly impacted by E.O. 14192, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” which President Trump issued on January 31, 2025.
