On Sept. 17, 2020, California enacted a new law (AB 685) that authorizes the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (the Division) to issue stop-work orders for facilities or operations that pose an imminent COVID-19 hazard to workers.
The new law also requires employers to:
- Notify workers when they have potentially been exposed to the
coronavirus in the workplace; and - Notify local public health agencies when a worksite has a COVID-19 outbreak.
AB 685 becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2021. The provisions specific to COVID-19 will remain in effect until Jan. 1, 2023. At that point, provisions regarding “imminent hazard” situations will continue to apply more broadly to other hazards.
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