California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board met today to consider a proposed statewide emergency workplace safety regulation addressing COVID-19 (coronavirus). We’re awaiting word on whether the Board approved it. If it’s approved, the Board will submit the proposal to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL), which will have ten calendar days to review…
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With the incidence of COVID-19 (coronavirus) increasing, the states of California, Oregon, and Washington have issued coordinated travel advisories encouraging people to stay home and avoid nonessential travel outside their region. The advisories further recommend that people entering the states (returning or arriving) from another state or country after non-essential…
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Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 685, which will require employers to provide employees with specific notice after becoming aware of a potential COVID-19 exposure in the workplace. The new law also gives the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (CalOSHA) the authority to shut down a facility if it’s deemed to…
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California employees who test positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus) will have an easier time getting workers’ compensation benefits thanks to Senate Bill 1159, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 17, 2020. As we previously reported, Governor Newsom issued an executive order in May creating this same presumption, but that order expired in…
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As we previously reported, a recent California law expanded COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) to all California employees, which has resulted in a new required posting for covered employers, as well as an updated SPSL poster for food sector workers. Pursuant to an executive order that Governor Newsom signed in…
Read More…Effective September 11, 2020, employers in San Francisco face steep penalties if they take adverse action against workers who are absent or request time off because they test positive for COVID-19, or because they isolate or quarantine due to COVID-19 symptoms or exposure. The new ordinance offers job protections for…
Read More…Effective October 1, 2020, covered employers in unincorporated Sacramento County must provide paid sick leave to eligible workers for qualifying, COVID-19-related reasons, and all employers in unincorporated Sacramento County must implement specific COVID-19-related safety protocols and practices in their facilities. Under the Sacramento County Worker Protection, Health and Safety Act…
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On September 9, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation (AB 1867) that ensures all California employees can take up to an additional 80 hours of paid sick leave for their own health concerns related to COVID-19, if they weren’t eligible for such leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).…
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On August 18, 2020, Sonoma County was added to the list of California localities to enact supplemental emergency paid sick leave (EPSL) related to COVID-19. The urgency ordinance took effect immediately and is set to expire on December 31, 2020 (unless extended), expanding EPSL to employees working in the unincorporated…
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The San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) has issued guidance on the “Back to Work” emergency ordinance, which took effect on July 3, 2020, and will remain in effect for 60 days, through September 2, 2020. As we previously reported, the ordinance gives eligible employees a temporary right to…
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