Mask shortages in health care prompt interim Cal/OSHA changes

Correction: An earlier version of this story wrongly stated that Cal/OSHA had changed requirements rather than guidance.

The California Department of Industrial Relations this month issued temporary changes to its guidance that health care workers be provided certified respirators in light of N95 mask shortages.

The “interim” guidance applies to employers covered by Cal/OSHA’s Aerosol Transmissible Diseases Standard and discusses respirator requirements for covered employers who care for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients when there are severe respirator shortages.

Under the guidelines Cal/OSHA is permitting employees to use reusable respirators certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health instead of disposable filtering facepiece respirators and allowing employees to wear their own respirator if it complies with Cal/OSHA requirements, among other nuances.

The interim guidelines are subject to change “as circumstances evolve,” Cal/OSHA said in an Aug. 6 document highlighting the policies.

More insurance and workers compensation news on the coronavirus crisis here.