CDPH Guidance for Face Coverings Beginning June 15

June 9, 2021

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released updated guidance for the use of face coverings effective June 15. This guidance aligns with CDC recommendations and will supersede all prior face coverings guidance.

Guidance for Individuals

Masks are not required for fully vaccinated individuals, except in the following settings where masks are required for everyone, regardless of vaccination status:

On public transit (examples: airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and ride-shares) and in transportation hubs (examples: airport, bus terminal, marina, train station, seaport or other port, subway station, or any other area that provides transportation).
Indoors in K-12 schools, childcare and other youth settings.
Note: This may change as updated K-12 schools guidance is forthcoming, pending updates for K-12 operational guidance from the CDC.
Healthcare settings (including long term care facilities).
State and local correctional facilities and detention centers.
Homeless shelters, emergency shelters and cooling centers.

Masks are required for unvaccinated individuals in indoor public settings and businesses (examples: retail, restaurants, theaters, family entertainment centers, meetings, state and local government offices serving the public).

Guidance for Businesses, Venue Operators or Hosts

In settings where masks are required only for unvaccinated individuals, businesses, venue operators or hosts may choose to:

Provide information to all patrons, guests and attendees regarding vaccination requirements and allow vaccinated individuals to self-attest that they are in compliance prior to entry.
Implement vaccine verification to determine whether individuals are required to wear a mask.
Require all patrons to wear masks.

No person can be prevented from wearing a mask as a condition of participation in an activity or entry into a business.

Exemption to mask requirements

The following individuals are exempt from wearing masks at all times:

Persons younger than two years old. Very young children must not wear a mask because of the risk of suffocation.
Persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a mask. This includes persons with a medical condition for whom wearing a mask could obstruct breathing or who are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a mask without assistance.
Persons who are hearing impaired, or communicating with a person who is hearing impaired, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication.
Persons for whom wearing a mask would create a risk to the person related to their work, as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.

Please note workplaces will remain subject to the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) or the Cal/OSHA Aerosol Transmissible Diseases Standard, whichever is applicable.

Information on the guidance in effect through June 14 can be found here. For questions regarding the Cal/OSHA ETS, please reach out to Louie Brown at lbrown@kscsacramento.com. For any questions on CDPH updates, please reach out to Rebecca Baskins at rbaskins@kscsacramento.com.

Kahn, Soares & Conway, LLP provides the foregoing for informational purposes only and it is not intended as legal advice. Using this information or sending electronic mail to Kahn, Soares & Conway, LLP or its attorneys does not create an attorney-client relationship. To request a PDF of this email, please contact amaubach@kscsacramento.com.