{"id":163824,"date":"2023-07-13T15:09:44","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T15:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shrm.org\/resourcesandtools\/legal-and-compliance\/state-and-local-updates\/pages\/california-covid-outbreak.aspx"},"modified":"2023-07-13T15:09:44","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T15:09:44","slug":"california-changes-definition-of-covid-19-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/squarehrwired.com\/index.php\/2023\/07\/13\/california-changes-definition-of-covid-19-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"California Changes Definition of COVID-19 Outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u200bBy now, California employers are quite familiar with the following situation: the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) makes a change to COVID-19<\/a> guidance, and your workplace obligations are affected under Cal\/OSHA’s COVID-19 regulations. CDPH has done it again, but this time in a manner that will benefit employers in the state.<\/p>\n

Previously, CDPH and Cal\/OSHA had defined a COVID-19 “outbreak” as three or more cases in an exposed group during a 14-day period. An employer in an “outbreak” had to follow additional requirements under the Cal\/OSHA COVID-19 nonemergency regulation until there are one or fewer COVID-19 cases for a 14-day period. The CDPH changed its definition of “outbreak” to mean three or more cases during a seven-day period. This change is automatically incorporated into the Cal\/OSHA regulation, which the agency confirmed in an updated FAQ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The bottom line for California employers is that it will now be harder to officially be considered in “outbreak” status, which triggers additional obligations under the Cal\/OSHA regulation. <\/p>\n

Once you are considered in “outbreak” under the Cal\/OSHA standard, you have additional obligations including the following:<\/p>\n