Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order allowing the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board's new rules to take effect immediately eliminating the usual 10-day administrative law review.
Prior to Thursday's vote, the governor had been calling on Cal/OSHA to change mask rules for workers to better align with CDC guidance to clear up confusion.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board was set to vote Thursday on whether to bring the state's workplace safety rules in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Newsom’s relaxation of mask guidance.
“It really does come down to Cal/OSHA,” Los Angeles County’s 5th district Supervisor Kathryn Barger told KNX.
Though it seems unlikely, she would like the health board to leave mask rules up to individual businesses.
“If a business feels safer for their employees and they would ask that you wear a mask, that’s their choice,” she said.
Today’s vote follows a series of back-and-forth decisions over workplace rules for California.
In the first week of June, a Cal/OSHA panel voted in favor of a proposal that would continue mask mandates if even a single employee was not vaccinated.
Shortly after the health board’s decision, State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón sent a letter to the board saying as much. He emphasized that the state planned to drop its mask mandate for many public settings.
“As of June 15, face coverings will no longer be required for fully vaccinated Californians in public settings, except in the settings where CDC advises that all individuals should wear face coverings regardless of vaccination status, such as healthcare settings and long-term care facilities, public transit, and sheltering operations,” Aragón wrote in his letter.
Dr. Aragón’s letter prompted a “special meeting” of the health board. The vote over requiring masks in the presence of one unvaccinated employee was never implemented.
Business leaders put pressure on Newsom to override the board.
"After the confusion and lack of clarity on reopening guidelines at the Cal/OSHA hearing tonight, the statewide business community must once again request the governor issue an Executive Order before June 15 to provide all employers with the consistency and certainty in guidelines," Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, said in a statement after the June 9 vote.
Lapsley said the changes, "will be the catalyst for a full economic reopening and create a powerful incentive to get even more Californians vaccinated."
State officials hope the board will today vote in favor of aligning California workplace standards with the looser guidance of the CDC. If the board does so, Newsom said he would issue an executive order for the new standards to be immediately implemented.
Proponents of the laxer rules point to California's relatively high vaccination coverage.
Close to 40 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the state, and 69% of eligible Californians — ages 12 and up — have received at least one dose, according to data from the CDC.
At least 56% of all Californians have received at least one dose.
The governor's office "is hopeful the Board will further revise its guidance to reflect the latest science while continuing to protect workers and balancing realistic and enforceable requirements for employers,” according to a statement from Newsom’s press office.