Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a variety of invoices that will impact California companies in 2021. Most importantly, the laws significantly extend the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), produce strict office reporting requirements associated with COVID-19, and explain California's year-old independent inspector legislation, Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5).

SUPPLEMENTAL COVID-19 PAID SICK LEAVE

Assembly Bill (AB) 1867 enlarged additional paid sick leave for COVID-19-related motives for some companies not covered by the national Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Especially, it took private companies that employ 500 or more U.S. workers to supply California workers with paid sick time for COVID-19-related absences.

The law was created effective 19 September 2020 to 31 December 2020 or on expiry of any national extension of FFCRA (whichever is later). About 31 December 2020, the national FFCRA leave provisions died, along the California legislature didn't enact any COVID-19 particular depart requirements for companies with fewer than 500 workers.

The California legislature chose to not embrace any laws requiring companies of any size to give COVID-19 depart in 2021. Thus, as of 31 December 2020, the FFCRA and AB 1867 COVID-19 leave prerequisites died. Employers are permitted to still take national tax credits for willingly supplying COVID-19 depart through 31 March 2021.

Additionally, some regional authorities, such as the City and County of San Francisco, San Mateo County, and Sacramento County, have expanded their regional sick leave ordinances to require covered employers to offer paid COVID-19 sick leave to 2021.

COVID-19 RECORDING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Taking effect 1 January 2021, AB 685 establishes strict COVID-19 reporting and recording requirements when companies get notice of an expected COVID-19 exposure in the office. Among other items, AB 685 requires companies to provide Several finds within a business day after receiving notice of a potential COVID-19 vulnerability:

• Written notice1 to all workers and companies of subcontracted workers who were in the work site inside the infectious phase;
• Written notice to worker representatives, including unions and, in certain conditions, lawyers who represent the affected workers;
• Written notice seeing COVID-19-related advantages, such as workers' compensation benefits, COVID-19 leave, paid sick leave, along with the organization's anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, along with anti-retaliation policies; and

Employers should also notify their regional public health department in 48 hours in an"epidemic" that happens at the worksite (defined as three lab-confirmed instances in just fourteen days ). The law also authorizes the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) to instantly shut down a business without previous notice when it concludes there is an imminent risk of serious bodily injury because of COVID-19, and also to issue substantial financial citations for serious offenses concerning COVID-19.

The legislation also requires companies to draft and execute another COVID-19 Pandemic plan which addresses all COVID-19 exposures, explains the way the company plans to fix these ailments, and suggests the way the employer will apply its processes, train its workers, conduct inspections, and examine its strategy for efficacy.

REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION OF CONTRACTING COVID-19 AT WORKPLACE

Senate Bill (SB) 1159 makes a rebuttable presumption that a worker contracted COVID-19 on the job when the employee tests positive in 14 days after reporting on their place of employment within an"epidemic" in the workplace2 regarding employees' compensation benefits. The bill defines a"special place of employment" as"the construction, shop, center, or agricultural area where a worker performs work in the employer's management," and does not include a worker's residence if they're working at house.

This presumption is present for workers who suffer death or illness caused by COVID-19 on or after 6 July 2020 during 1 January 2023. Additionally, once the employer knows or reasonably ought to know that a worker has tested positive for COVID-19, the employer can be required to document to its claims administrator in writing within three business days.

SIGNIFICANT EXPANSION OF CFRA

Significant growth of California's present family medical leave legislation, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), requires companies with five or more workers to give specific outstanding, secure household, health, and military leave to eligible employees. The law, SB 1383, goes in to effect on 1 January 2021.

The preceding version of CFRA monitored the demands of the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and just applied to firms with 50 or more workers within a 75-mile radius.

More importantly, the subsequent changes to CFRA were enacted:

• Employer Eligibility Threshold of Five Workers: CFRA has been expanded to apply to companies with five or more workers.3 Such companies must currently offer qualified employees with up to 12 workweeks of unpaid protected leave during a 12-month interval.4
• Expanded Definition of"Family Members": CFRA permits workers to take unpaid protected leave to care for a"relative" with a critical medical condition. FMLA and the preceding version of CFRA specify"relative" because the employee's parent, child, spouse, or domestic partner. SB 1383 significantly expands this definition to include grandparents, grandparents, and grandparents. 
• This growth seems to permit a worker to have a combined total of 24 months of unpaid leave under CFRA and FMLA because of the differing definitions of"relative." By way of instance, an employee who takes 12 weeks under CFRA to take care of a grandparent with a serious medical condition may also be qualified under FMLA to take the following 12 months of leave to care for a partner with a serious medical condition.5 This issue might have to be solved by the courts or even a clarifying change.
• Parents working To the same Employer: CFRA gave that when the two parents of a child work for the identical company, the employer isn't required to give over 12 months to both parents joined to bond with their child (birth, adoption, or placement of the foster child within a year of the case ). The alterations to CFRA eliminate this particular provision, and companies should currently provide 12 months to both workers.
• "Key Employee" Exception Eliminated: below the preceding CFRA, "key workers" that are among the highest 10 percent paid workers in the corporation could be denied reinstatement when necessary as a result of fiscal harm to the corporation. The new law removes this exclusion, so all workers have the right to reinstatement to the same or corresponding job standing (to the extent which the employee would have stayed in that place if they were continuously employed throughout the CFRA leave).

Governor Newson additionally signed AB 1867 that, among other things, establishes a new"small company family depart mediation program" related to firms with 5 to 19 workers. This pilot program has been specifically created to deal with concerns that small companies would face greater litigation as a result of non-compliance with all the new provisions of CFRA.

PPE SUPPLY FOR HOSPITALS

AB 2537 demands private and public companies of employees at general acute care hospitals (as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 1250(a)6) to keep certain stockpiles of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as given respirators, surgical masks, and isolation gowns, eye protection, and shoe coverings. Especially, starting 1 April 2021, companies must keep a three-month source of the designated equipment. What's more, the bill requires companies to establish and implement effective written procedures for periodically determining the amount and kinds of gear used in its usual ingestion. Hospitals also have to be ready to report their greatest seven-day successive daily intake of PPE throughout the 2019 calendar year into the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR).

REVISIONS TO KIN CARE

Presently, workers can use up to half of the accrued sick leave to care for a relative, also called kin care AB 2017 revises the legislation to provide that the designation of this sick leave taken under these terms is in the sole discretion of the worker. It describes that the worker has the right to designate sick leave because of kin care or never, to avert a designation mistake and accidental draw from kin care period once the sick days have been taken for personal sick leave.