Operational Update
June 18, 2021
Now that California has officially announced its “reopening” we understand that there are some questions as to how this affects the District’s public health and safety requirements for employees and students. The District is currently working through the requirements adopted by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Cal/OSHA) and California Department of Public Health (CDPH), but suffice it to say, these requirements mark a significant change in the public health and safety guidelines that have been in place for the past 16 months.
The District is in the process of updating its COVID-19 Containment, Control, and Response Plan (“COVID-19 Plan”) in compliance with the new Cal/OSHA and CDPH requirements, and hopes to have the COVID-19 Plan available for dissemination within the next seven (7) to ten (10) business days. We are aware that many of you are anxious to get back to normalcy, and we thank you for your patience and cooperation as we sort through the new Cal/OSHA requirements and any lingering collective bargaining issues.
Unless and until further notice, the District expects employees, students, and visitors to continue to follow the COVID-19 Plan currently in place at the college. This means, regardless of your vaccination status, you must:
- Complete the Online Health Assessment before coming to campus
- Wear a face covering while on campus (except as is expressly permitted in the current COVID-19 Plan)
- Continue physical distancing guidelines
Another notice will be sent to the campus community when changes to the District’s COVID-19 Plan become effective that reflect the new Cal/OSHA and CDPH guidelines, including distinguishing between employees (and students/visitors) who are vaccinated and those who are not. For example, employees who are fully vaccinated will be permitted to go without a face covering indoors as well as outdoors, with very limited exceptions. Unvaccinated employees, on the other hand, will be required to continue to wear a face covering when indoors, with very limited exceptions, such as when they are alone in an enclosed office. Face coverings are recommended for unvaccinated individuals when outdoors and likely to come in close contact (six [6] feet or less) with multiple people.
Because of these distinctions, Cal/OSHA now mandates that the District verify employees’ vaccination status (see https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/coronavirus/Revisions-FAQ.html). In anticipation of the dissemination of the newly updated COVID-19 Plan and in order to facilitate the transition to the new public health and safety requirements as quickly as possible, the District will begin collecting proof of vaccination status from employees effective immediately.
We ask that all employees send a copy or photo of their vaccine card or a statement by a healthcare provider attesting to vaccination status to Human Resources by sending an email to C19@canyons.edu as soon as possible, but by no later than Friday, July 2. Your vaccination status and all submitted information will be kept confidential. We ask that you do not provide any further medical information beyond the documentation necessary to establish that you received your vaccine and the dates thereof. Employees who fail or decline to submit proof of vaccination status, or who otherwise indicate that they are unvaccinated, will be expected to abide by all Cal/OSHA restrictions, including, most notably, the requirement to continue to wear a face covering while indoors. Designated District personnel will be monitoring compliance with the new face covering requirements for unvaccinated individuals.
We know there are many questions surrounding the new Cal/OSHA requirements. Along with the new COVID-19 Plan we will be providing an updated FAQ that will describe how we will move forward together to implement these changes for faculty, classified staff, administrators students, and visitors at College of the Canyons. We thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
– College of the Canyons Incident Command Team