No Masks Required In The Workplace For Vaccinated Californians

CALIFORNIA — California regulators on Thursday approved worksite rules that allow most fully vaccinated employees to go maskless on the job and do away with physical distancing in the workplace.

The revised California Occupational Safety and Health Standards COVID regulations conform with a June 15 state order that ended indoor mask-wearing and social distancing for people fully vaccinated against the coronavirus except in certain settings: public transportation; indoors at K-12 schools, childcare and other youth sites; health care settings; prisons, jails and other detention centers; homeless shelters; emergency shelters; and cooling centers.

Unvaccinated workers will still be required to mask up in indoor settings. This aligns with the June 15 state order requiring that the unvaccinated public wear face coverings indoors.

The updated Cal/OSHA proposed emergency safety order also requires that employers document who is vaccinated in their workplaces. Face coverings, such as N95 masks, must also be provided to unvaccinated workers who request them.

Businesses can choose to be more strict when it comes to masking and they can't discriminate against vaccinated workers who choose to wear face coverings.

The updated Cal/OSHA proposed emergency safety order is required to be reviewed and decided on within 10 days by the state's Office of Administrative Law, but Gov. Gavin Newsom has promised to expedite the process with an updated executive order.

Thursday's Cal/OSHA vote might come as good news for some employees who have been donning masks in the workplace for over a year, but more than two hours of public comments during Thursday's Cal/OSHA hearing showed there wasn't agreement on how to move forward, with many public commenters arguing against loosening health protections.

Only Cal/OSHA board member Laura Stock voted against the updated proposal.

As of Thursday, 56.2 percent of California's vaccination-eligible population was fully vaccinated against COVID, according to the California Department of Public Health.