La Verne Chamber Of Commerce: Revisions To The COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards Frequently Asked Questions

Press release from La Verne Chamber of Commerce:

July 01, 2021

The following information on masking requirements for employees is provided by the California Department of Industrial Relations. Click here for more details.

Q:  Who has to wear face coverings?
A:  Face coverings are required indoors and in vehicles for unvaccinated employees. Employees in certain indoor settings must wear a face covering regardless of vaccination status if required by CDPH order. As of June 15, those indoor settings where CDPH requires face coverings include public transit, K-12 educational facilities, health care and long-term care settings, correctional and detention facilities, and shelters (homeless or emergency shelters and cooling centers).

Though face coverings are not required outdoors, employers must communicate to workers that face coverings are recommended for unvaccinated persons outdoors where six feet of physical distancing cannot be maintained. Employers must provide face coverings to unvaccinated persons and make them available to vaccinated persons upon request.

Q:  Are there exceptions to wearing face coverings indoors?
A:  Yes. The most common exceptions for unvaccinated persons are:

• When alone in a room or vehicle
• When eating and drinking
• When an accommodation is required
• When job duties make a face covering infeasible or create a hazard

Q:  Are workers protected from retaliation if they choose to wear a face covering, even if not required to do so?
A:  Yes. Employers cannot retaliate against workers for wearing face coverings, including when the worker is wearing a face covering voluntarily.

 
Q:  Is documentation required for a fully vaccinated employee to work without a face covering indoors?
A:  Yes. Vaccination status must be documented. The revised ETS does not specify a particular method. The employer must record the vaccination status for any employee not wearing a face covering indoors and this record must be kept confidential. Acceptable options include:

• Employees provide proof of vaccination (vaccine card, image of vaccine card or health care document showing vaccination status) and employer maintains a copy.
• Employees provide proof of vaccination. The employer maintains a record of the employees who presented proof, but not the vaccine record itself.
• Employees self-attest to vaccination status and employer maintains a record of who self-attests.

Nothing in the revised ETS prevents an employer from requiring all employees to wear a face covering instead of having a documentation process.

Q. What if the employee declines to state their vaccination status?
A:  Under the ETS, an employer is not obligated to require employees to submit proof of being fully vaccinated. Absent such a requirement, an employee has the right to decline to state if they are vaccinated or not. In that case, the employer must treat the employee as unvaccinated and must not take disciplinary or discriminatory action against the employee.
 

This press release was produced by La Verne Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.