Business Owners, Get Ready – Pasadena Will Require You Provide Upgraded Masks To Your Staff

Mirroring an order issued this week by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the Pasadena Public Health Department will issue an order requiring Pasadena employers to provide upgraded masks, such as N95s, to their on-site employees, contract workers and volunteers, city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.

The order will likely take effect on Jan. 17, the same day as the County order.

The County’s order requires all employers and businesses to provide and require on-site employees, assigned or contracted workers or volunteers to wear a surgical mask or higher-level respirator approved by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), such as an N95 filtering facepiece respirator, at all times while indoors at the worksite or facility.

The upgraded mask requirement echoes an order released late last week by the county for K-12 schools, requiring teachers and staff to wear higher-grade face coverings.

The changes come amid a surge in COVID-19 infections driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus.