A Cal/OSHA panel could decide on Thursday whether masks will be mandatory in the workplace.
The proposed rule that would mandate masks if even one employee in a workplace is unvaccinated for COVID-19.
The Cal OSHA Standards Board is expected to vote on draft rules released last week. Mask wearing at indoor workplaces could be lifted in August if everyone is vaccinated and can prove it to the boss, however, employers would be required to provide masks to unvaccinated workers and would be presumed responsible if someone contracted the coronavirus.
Alameda County Health Officer Dr. Nick Moss fears a rise in cases is in our future as more of us return to the workplace.
"We are getting to a place where mask rules are being relaxed because of the vaccine and when we see unvaccinated people not wearing masks indoors, we'll see transmission," he said. "It'll spread in those settings.
The proposed rules also throw out physical distancing requirements after July if everyone is vaccinated. We can expect a lot of changes on June 15 as California fully reopens its economy but dropping the indoor mask mandate won't necessarily happen right away.
Helen Cleary, director of the Phylmar Regulatory Roundtable, a coalition of large businesses, told The Associated Press it was "astonishing" that staff didn't align with guidelines from federal and state health officials, describing the Cal/OSHA proposal as a "rogue public policy."
The rules could remain in place into early next year.
