Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973, provides the Division of Occupational Safety and Health within the Department of Industrial Relations with the power, jurisdiction, and supervision over all employment and places of employment necessary to enforce and administer all occupational health and safety laws and standards and to protect employees. Under the act, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the division is authorized to adopt, amend, or repeal occupational safety and health standards and orders. The act requires an employer to, among other things, provide safety devices and safeguards reasonably adequate to render the place of employment safe. A violation of the act under specific circumstances is a crime.
This bill would require the standards board, by February 1, 2021, to adopt occupational safety and health standards for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection prevention for agricultural employers and employees, as defined. The bill would require the division to disseminate information on best practices to agricultural employers commencing on January 1, 2021 and whenever the guidance document is updated, in both English and Spanish. The bill would also require the division or its designee to work collaboratively with community organizations to conduct a targeted outreach campaign, including public service announcements on local Spanish radio stations and the distribution of workplace signs. The bill would require agricultural employers to implement the provisions of the guidance document entitled "Safety and Health Guidance: COVID-19 Infection Prevention for Agricultural Employers and Employees" as it is put forth and updated by the division. The bill would exempt regulations adopted to implement these provisions from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would repeal these provisions when the state of emergency has been terminated by proclamation of the Governor or by concurrent resolution of the Legislature, as specified, or on January 1, 2022, whichever is later. By expanding the definition of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Statutes affected:
AB 2043: 12940 GOV
02/03/20 - Introduced: 12940 GOV
05/11/20 - Amended Assembly: 12940 GOV
AB2043: 12940 GOV