New California Laws in 2020. Employers with multiple establishments must submit a report for each establishment as well as a consolidated report that includes all employees. For any positive test occurring on or after September 17, 2020, an employer must, within three business days of learning that an employee has tested positive for COVID-19, report to its workers’ compensation carrier in writing, sent via email or fax, all of the following information: an employee tested positive for COVID-19 (but without providing any personally identifiable information regarding the employee unless the employee asserts the infection is work-related or has filed a workers’ compensation claim); the date the employee tests positive, which is the date the specimen was collected for testing; the specific address(es) of the employee’s “specific place of employment”5 during the 14-day period preceding the date of the employee’s positive test; and the highest number of employees who reported to work at the employee’s specific place of employment in the 45-day period preceding the last day the employee worked at each specific place of employment. SB 973’s requirement for employers to report pay data to the state of California starting in March 2021. Employers who operate petroleum facilities must also include, as part of the itemized wage statement they are required to furnish pursuant to Section 226(a) of the Labor Code the total hours or pay owed to an employee covered by Section 226.7 on account of a missed rest period. The new law also adds a section to the California Labor Code which provides that a successor employer is liable for any wages, damages and penalties owed to any of the predecessor employer's former workforce pursuant to a final judgment, after the time to appeal therefrom has expired and for which no appeal therefrom is pending, if the successor employer meets any of the following criteria: This bill amends Section 1205 of and adds Section 200.3 to the Labor Code and amends sections 1502, 2217 and 17702.09 of the Corporations Code. It provides that in addition to the Attorney General of the State of California and certain City Attorneys, District Attorneys may now prosecute an action for injunctive relief for non-compliance with AB 2257. Provide all employees who may have been exposed and their exclusive representative, if any, with information regarding COVID-19-related benefits to which they may be entitled, including but not limited to worker's compensation, COVID-19-related leave, and paid sick leave, as well as the employer's anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation policies. The most significant laws include new obligations to report employee pay data, an expansion of protected leave under the California Family Rights Act, additional exemptions to California's worker classification law … This bill amends sections 6325 and 6432 of the Labor Code and adds section 6409.6 to the Labor Code. Five Employment Law Changes Employers Can Expect Under a Biden Administration AB 685 Requires Employers To Provide … Supplemental Paid Sick Leave: This bill codifies Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-51-20 (signed April 16, 2020) which provided supplemental paid sick leave to food sector employees for an employer with 500 or more employees nationwide as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave). Small Employer Family Leave Mediation Pilot Program: The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has, among other things, the power to investigate, mediate and prosecute complaints by employees or former employees under FEHA. New CFRA leave will also continue to run concurrently with leave taken pursuant to the FMLA, except for any leave taken under the FMLA for disability because of pregnancy or childbirth. Per the Executive Order, Cal. AB 1947 also authorizes a court to award reasonable attorney's fees to a plaintiff who successfully brings a whistleblower action under Labor Code Section 1102.5. An outbreak occurs when: (1) if the employer has 100 employees or fewer: four employees test positive for COVID-19 within 14 calendar days; (2) if the employer has more than 100 employees: 4 percent of the number of employees test positive for COVID-19 within 14 calendar days; or (3) the place of employment is ordered closed by public authorities due to a risk of infection with COVID-19. AB 2017 provides that when an employee takes sick leave to attend to the illness of a family member, the designation of sick leave is at the sole discretion of the employee. This bill also extends COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave to non-food sector employees such that sick leave must be provided to all employees who leave their homes or place of residence to perform work and who work for employers that have 500 or more employees nationwide. Wage and Hour Laws. Under AB 685, private and public employers who receive notice of a potential exposure to COVID-19 must do the following within one business day: The written notice provided to employees may include, but is not limited to, personal service, email or text message if it can reasonably be anticipated to be received by the employee within one business day of sending and shall be in both English and the language understood by the majority of the employees. The new law also mandates that the EDD mail to eligible employers a claim packet for each participating employee within 5 business days following approval of the application, and make online claim forms available to the approved employer for each participating employee within five business days following approval of the application if the employer submitted its work-sharing plan application online. The law amends the Labor Code by adding Section 515.7, which states that an employee providing instruction for a course or laboratory at an independent institution of higher education, as defined by the Education Code, shall be classified as exempt under the professional exemption if the employee meets both a duties and salary test. The most significant laws include new obligations to report employee pay data, an expansion of protected leave under the California Family Rights Act, additional exemptions to California’s worker classification law … This website uses cookies to improve user experience, track anonymous site usage, store authorization tokens and permit sharing on social media networks. This reporting requirement applies regardless of whether you believe the employee contracted COVID-19 at work. AB 1867 requires the DFEH to create a small employer family leave mediation pilot program which would authorize a small employer or the employee to request all parties to participate in mediation through the DFEH’s dispute resolution division. The California Labor Commissioner has published useful FAQs to assist employers. With the new year, the California minimum wage will increase again. , 3212.87, and 3212.88 of the documents in the corporation 's statement information! 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