New Year Brings COVID-19 Changes for the Workplace
The beginning of the year has brought some significant COVID-19 related changes.
COVID-19 No Longer Presumed to Be a Work-Related Illness
January 1st marks the sunset of Senate Bill 1159, emergency legislation passed in 2020 that temporarily amended workers’ compensation laws. SB 1159 created a rebuttable presumption that employees who tested positive for COVID-19 during a COVID-19 “outbreak” at the workplace contracted the virus at work and were therefore eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. While employers were permitted to dispute the presumption, they bore the burden of proving that the illness did not occur at work.
SB 1159 also required that employers notify their workers’ compensation claims administrator any time they knew, or “reasonably should have” known, that an employee had tested positive for COVID-19, regardless of whether the transmission was thought to have occurred at work. Claims administrators were responsible for evaluating these reports to determine when a COVID outbreak had occurred in the workplace and the rebuttable presumption became applicable. The law included costly penalties against employers who intentionally submitted false or misleading information or who failed to submit information entirely.
California Department of Public Health Revises COVID-19 Isolation and Testing Guidance
Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Non-Emergency Regulations took effect a year ago and applies to most employers in California who are not covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard. It outlines required workplace COVID-19 protocols and defers to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for guidance related to isolation and quarantine periods and masking and testing requirements.
On January 9th, the CDPH revised their isolation recommendations for COVID-19 cases, dramatically decreasing the amount of time an ill employee must be excluded from the workplace:
- Symptomatic COVID-19 cases must remain in isolation a minimum of 24 hours from the date of symptom onset. Employees may return to work once they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication) provided that their symptoms are mild and improving. Employees recovering from COVID-19 are also required to wear a mask when around other people indoors for 10 days from the date of symptom onset.
- Asymptomatic COVID-19 cases are required to wear a mask when around other people indoors. The mask should be worn for 10 days from the date of the employee’s positive COVID-19 test.
All employees with COVID-19, regardless of symptoms, are advised to avoid contact with people who have a higher risk of contracting a severe case of COVID-19, including the elderly and those with immunocompromising conditions.
The CDPH also revised testing requirements. COVID-19 testing is no longer required for all “close contacts.” Testing is only necessary for anyone on the close contact list 1) who has new COVID-19 symptoms and/or 2) who is at a higher risk of severe illness or who has contact with people who are a higher risk of severe illness. Employers must still make COVID-19 testing available at no cost and during paid work time to all employees with close contact, except for asymptomatic employees who recently recovered from the virus.
Despite the “simplification” of the CDPH’s guidance, COVID-19 compliance remains challenging to navigate. Please reach out if you would like support addressing COVID-19 cases in the workplace.