Just today, Bay Area health officials announced a face mask mandate that aligns with the CDC recommendations that we wrote about last week. Effective Tuesday, August 3, 2021, at 12:01 am, residents of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Marin and the City of Berkeley will be required to wear a face covering while indoors in a public setting, regardless of your vaccination status, with limited exceptions.
This mask mandate is an attempt to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant, which according to the CDC has caused over 75% of recent Covid-19 cases in the United States- according to estimates-and will likely cause more.
Employers be advised that you will be required, once again, to revise your Covid-19 policies to reflect these changes. While these local orders differ from the current Cal-OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”), the ETS allow local jurisdictions to mandate more protective measures, such as mask mandates. This means that as an employer, you must follow the most restrictive rules that apply to your business and is most favorable to your employees – i.e., all businesses should reinstitute a mask mandate effective tomorrow.
For more information about what this mask mandate means for your business and whether exceptions apply, and/or discuss changes to your Covid-19 policies in light of the Covid-19 Delta variant, please contact the Employer Lawyers at Chauvel & Glatt.
This material in this article, provided by Chauvel & Glatt, is designed to provide informative and current information as of the date of the post. It should not be considered, nor is it intended to constitute legal advice. For information on your particular circumstances, please contact Chauvel & Glatt at 650-573-9500. (photo credit: 123rf.com)