Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

2 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

3 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

3 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

3 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

3 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

3 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

3 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

3 days ago
California Businesses Baffled by Various Reopening Rules
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
June 11, 2021

Share

LOS ANGELES — Businesses in California remain baffled by the shifting rules over who needs to wear masks and where as the nation’s largest state fully reopens from the pandemic on Tuesday.

While Gov. Gavin Newsom’s health agency has said vaccinated people won’t need to wear face coverings in many public places, state regulators — following several lengthy and hotly contested debates — are still drafting rules for workers.

That has some business leaders clamoring for Newsom, who will likely face a recall election in the fall, to step in and order just one set of mask rules for California’s 40 million people.

“We asked the governor to issue an executive order to align the rules,” said Lucy Dunn, president and chief executive of the Orange County Business Council. “Otherwise it’s just terribly confusing.”

Cal/OSHA Board’s Rules Conflict With ‘Honor System’

With vaccinations rising and coronavirus cases low, California will end most mask rules on June 15 for people who are vaccinated while continuing to require face coverings for unvaccinated people in indoor public settings and businesses. Everyone will need to remain masked in some places such as public transit and indoor school classes.

Under the system, business can rely on an honor system where customers are expected to use a mask if they aren’t inoculated but aren’t required to show proof.

“The posting of this guidance clearly requiring people, putting the requirement on the individual to self-attest to their vaccine status by wearing or not wearing a mask, will be the way — one approved way — to comply with this set of updates,” Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s secretary of health and human services, said this week. Ghaly said businesses can also require vaccine verification or face coverings if they choose.

But the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, which oversees workplaces, has been drafting its own, distinct reopening rules. Last week, the board adopted a rule that would have let workers forgo masks only if every employee in a room was fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. The Cal/OSHA board has since backtracked and is considering changes to those rules but these won’t be revisited until a June 17 meeting or likely to take effect until the end of the month.

The rules apply in almost every workplace in the state, including workers in offices, factories and retail.

Guideline Inconsistencies

Robert Moutrie, a policy advocate at the California Chamber of Commerce, said the board’s decision to rework the rules is welcome but more changes are needed. The chamber, for example, also opposes a proposal to require employers to provide the most effective N95 masks for voluntary use by unvaccinated employees who work indoors or at large outdoor events, saying it would be costly and compete with health care workers’ needs.

“California needs consistency as it moves towards opening on June 15th,” Moutrie said in a statement.

Derrick Seaver, president and chief executive of the Silicon Valley Organization, said businesses have struggled throughout the pandemic with a patchwork of approaches and lack of consistency in guidelines. But he believes the state is moving in the right direction by seeking to get in sync with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on face coverings, and said local businesses are pleased they won’t be on the hook to verify or enforce mask wearing.

“By allowing those individuals to self attest, we’re allowing them to obviously to some extent take personal responsibility about that attestation,” Seaver said. “From a business standpoint, that gets them out of the thorny issues of reporting and privacy” related to vaccine administration.

“We’re going to go back to some semblance of normalcy, and obviously every step in that direction is a good day for business,” he said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

UP NEXT

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

UP NEXT

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

UP NEXT

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

Tesla Executive, Elon Musk Confidant Leaves EV Maker, Bloomberg News Reports

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

3 hours ago

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

3 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

3 hours ago

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

3 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

1 day ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

1 day ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

2 days ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

2 days ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

2 days ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

2 days ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

A suspected DUI driver crashed into a parked California Highway Patrol motorcycle and tow truck along Highway 99 near North Avenue, missing ...

2 hours ago

A 22-year-old suspected DUI driver crashed into a parked CHP motorcycle and tow truck on Highway 99 near Fresno, narrowly missing an officer and bystanders, CHP said Saturday, July 5, 2025. (CHP)
2 hours ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

A service member of a drone unit of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces controls a heavy combat drone while it flies over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk Region, Ukraine June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

An Israeli tank maneuvers in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 6, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
3 hours ago

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned nearly 80,000 acres as of Sunday, July 6, 2025, morning, prompting widespread evacuation orders and warnings across three counties. (CalFire)
3 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk gets in a Tesla car as he leaves a hotel in Beijing, China May 31, 2023. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

A search dog operates at Camp Mystic after deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, U.S., July 5, 2025. (Reuters/Sergio Flores)
3 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

2024 Democratic National Convention
3 hours ago

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

Solar Farm in Riesel, Texas
1 day ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend