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AB 685 Passed: Employer Notification of Covid

By Kristin Withrow posted 09-01-2020 09:32 AM

  

Legislative Update
The California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 685 by Assembly Member Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-Grand Terrace) amidst opposition from CSDA and other organizations representing employers. Laudably, the legislation will require public agencies to notify employees if they’ve potentially been exposed to COVID-19 at the worksite. Unfortunately, if signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, other provisions of the bill will create unnecessary challenges for employers to implement when it goes into effect on January 1, 2021.

The author of the AB 685 recognizes the legislation’s shortcomings but was unable to implement amendments before the end of the legislative session. Assembly Member Gómez Reyes intends to run legislation in 2021 to address some of these issues. Concerns communicated by CSDA, along with numerous other employer organizations and businesses, are outlined in this coalition opposition letter.

 

AB 685, beginning January 1, 2021, requires:

 

  • If an employer or representative of the employer receives a notice of potential exposure to COVID-19, the employer shall take all of the following actions within one business day of the notice of potential exposure:
    • Provide a written notice to all employees, and the employers of subcontracted employees, who were on the premises at the same worksite as the qualifying individual within the infectious period that they may have been exposed to COVID-19 in a manner the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information.
    • Provide a written notice to the exclusive representative, if any, of employees described above.
    • Provide all employees who may have been exposed and the exclusive representative, if any, with information regarding COVID-19-related benefits to which the employee may be entitled under applicable federal, state, or local laws.
    • Notify all employees, and the employers of subcontracted employees and the exclusive representative, if any, on the disinfection and safety plan that the employer plans to implement and complete per the guidelines of the federal Centers for Disease Control.

  • A notification described above is necessary in the following circumstances:
    • A laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19, as defined by the State Department of Public Health.
    • A positive COVID-19 diagnosis from a licensed health care provider.
    • A COVID-19-related order to isolate provided by a public health official.
    • Death due to COVID-19, in the determination of a county public health department or per inclusion in the COVID-19 statistics of a county.

 

  • If three or more employees get sick with COVID-19,  the employer must begin reporting those illnesses to their local health authority, who will in turn report to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). CDPH must make occupation and industry information received available on their respective internet websites in a manner that allows the public to track outbreaks.

 

  • This bill exempts from the provisions of AB 685 all health facilities and those employees who, as part of their duties, conduct COVID-19 testing or screening or provide direct patient care or treatment to individuals who are known to have tested positive for COVID-19, are persons under investigation, or are in quarantine or isolation related to COVID-19, unless the qualifying individual is an employee at the same worksite.

 

  • An employer must maintain records of the written notifications required for a period of at least three years.

 

Governor Newsom has until September 30 to sign or veto AB 685, though all indications point to the Governor signing the bill into law. For questions regarding this legislation, please contact CSDA’s Senior Legislative Representative, Dillon Gibbons, at dillong@csda.net.


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