Court upholds California’s COVID-19 workplace rules requiring testing, sick pay
The story has been updated on Monday, March 1 with a comment from Cal-OSHA.
Saying the state has wide authority to create rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, a San Francisco Superior Court judge on Thursday upheld California’s COVID-19 emergency workplace regulations in place.
The ruling heads off a challenge to the regulations by small businesses and trade groups, who had said California’s rules are too burdensome and should not be enforced.
“The balance of interim harms and the public interest in curbing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting worker and community health weigh heavily in favor of the continued implementation and enforcement of the (Emergency Temporary Standard) Regulations,” Judge Ethan Schulman said in his ruling Thursday. “Lives are at stake.”
Passed in November by the standards board of the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, commonly called Cal-OSHA, the regulations require employers to regularly test workers during coronavirus outbreaks, as well as paying them during their quarantine, among other provisions.
The National Federation of Independent Businesses, the National Retail Federation and three California businesses challenged the rules through the lawsuit. They said they believe “the vast majority” of California businesses have already been acting responsibly and that the cost of the new regulations will prevent many businesses from reopening.
They were later joined by a coalition of agricultural and other business groups.
But Schulman said those business groups have overstated the regulations’ impact on businesses. The standard, for instance, does not require employers to pay benefits to those hospitalized due to the coronavirus, he said.
Schulman also said the standard allows companies to meet their testing requirement by taking advantage of free testing available to the public.
“Plaintiffs do not show, however, that even a single retailer has suffered significant costs as a result of complying with these requirements in the more than 60 days that the ETS Regulations have been in effect,” he said.
Business groups expressed disappointment at Schulman’s ruling.
“Today’s decision is only going to further burden America’s already struggling Main Street,” said Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center.
But labor advocates said it represents a victory for the state’s frontline workers.
“This is a meaningful victory for essential fast-food workers like me who have organized our co-workers, gone on strike and spoken out to make our workplaces safer during the pandemic,” said Julia Sarabia, a McDonald’s worker and a leader in the Fight for $15, in a statement.
Stephen Knight, executive director of an employee-rights advocacy group Worksafe, acknowledged that the standard is not a “magic wand.” The Bee has reported that Cal/OSHA remains woefully understaffed, as well as significantly undercounting the number of employees who have fallen seriously ill or died as a result of the coronavirus.
But Knight said having the standard in place, as well as beefing up Cal/OSHA’s staffing, can improve the agency’s response in preventing and addressing workplace outbreaks.
“The path ahead of us is still unknown despite the significant drop in cases across the state,” he said. “We look forward to the agency devoting appropriate resources to prioritize the safety of workers.”
Cal-OSHA Chief Doug Parker said in a statement that the agency is pleased that the ruling allows California workers to continue to benefit from the protections of these emergency temporary standards.
Business groups can appeal Schulman’s decision, although it’s not yet clear whether they will do so.
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 5:54 PM.
