California OSHA Allows Vaccinated Workers to go Maskless in the Workplace

Starting next week, California workers who are vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed to go maskless following a vote by the standards board of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (CAL-OSHA), KCAL-TV reports. The vote allows workers to go maskless if all employees at their workplace are also fully vaccinated. The decision follows updated U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance from this spring stating that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing, except under certain circumstances.

The CAL-OSHA seven-member board first voted 4-3 against the proposal on June 3. However, after hearing more than 100 people speak during public comment period which lasted more than eight hours, the board reintroduced the topic and passed it. The new rule will go into effect on June 15, the same day the state will loosen rules regarding masking and other COVID-19 precautions, and could remain in place into early next year, according to the Associated Press (AP).

A day after the vote, California Governor Gavin Newsom praised the decision saying, “We’re pleased they made progress moving in the right direction,” according to AP. However, some of his opponents have suggested Newsom could use emergency powers to further lift restrictions in the meantime.

The workplace mask proposal will still require employers to provide masks to employees since the new rule only applies to fully vaccinated workers, according to CNN. Critics of the proposal said this will lead to stockpiling N-95 masks and create tension among employees.

“Employees will be pissed off wondering whose fault it is that they have to wear a mask,” Stephen Hirschfeld, a San Francisco employment lawyer, told CNN. “This could set up a situation where they try to figure out who is unvaccinated and give them a hard time.”

The CAL-OSHA board members said the new rules are a temporary solution, and that a newly appointed three-person subcommittee will consider additional changes to mask rules in the coming weeks, according to CNN. The board plans to regroup at its June 17 meeting.