Reminder: CA Employers Must Heed Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Requirements for COVID-19 Return-to-Work Criteria

As COVID cases surge across the country, California dental employers must continue to follow Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 return-to-work criteria as found in Title 8 California Code of Regulations Section 3205 (Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Prevention Standard). Effective January 2024, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) adopted the following definition of “infectious period,” which applies to Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 prevention requirements:

• For COVID-19 cases with symptoms, it is a minimum of 24 hours from the day of symptom onset. COVID-19 cases may return if 24 hours have passed with no fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications, and their symptoms are mild and improving, OR
• For COVID-19 cases with no symptoms, there is no infectious period for the purpose of isolation or exclusion. If symptoms develop, the criteria above will apply.

According to Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Prevention Standard, an employee may return to work at the conclusion of their infectious period, as described above, according to current CDPH guidelines. For COVID-19 cases that return to work, employers must continue to provide and ensure returning COVID-19 cases use face coverings until 10 days have passed from the date symptoms began or, for asymptomatic cases who tested positive for COVID-19, from the date of their first positive test.

Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Prevention Standard is in effect until February 3, 2025, except for the recordkeeping subsections which will remain in effect until February 3, 2026.