The state of Virginia, which in 2019 became a democrat trifecta state for the first time, this week became the first state to adopt an emergency workplace standard specific to the coronavirus pandemic. Governor Ralph Northam announced a new Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which mandates that workers be provided with personal protective equipment this week. It also establishes specific parameters for sanitizing worksites, dictates social distancing enforcement and requires businesses bar workers suspected of having had contact with COVID infected persons from returning to work for 10 days or until they test negative twice in a row. The ETS was formally adopted by a vote of the Safety and Health Codes Boards of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry and will become effective when published by the department, expected to be July 27, 2020 at the latest. Currently, the ETS will remain in effect for six months but may be made permanent through the legislative process before it expires. At the same press conference, Northam also announced that state officials will be increasing restaurant inspections across the state as well as penalties for violations of pandemic-driven restrictions including face coverings and social distancing mandates. And out on the West Coast, California’s capital city of Sacramento has also adopted new employee safety legislation in the form of the Sacramento Worker Protection, Health and Safety Act. Effective this past Wednesday, July 15, Ordinance 2020-00260 requires all employers in Sacramento to comply with safety practices and protocols and mandates that larger employers also provide supplemental paid sick leave to employees for COVID-19 related reasons.