New California Assembly Bills Extend Preexisting Requirements
The new Assembly Bill No. 1751, approved by California Governor on September 29, 2022, sunsets the existing COVID-19 presumption and claim requirements put in place by Senate Bill No. 1159, and extends the date from January 1, 2023 to January 1, 2024.
Likewise, Assembly Bill No. 2693 adds to Assembly Bill No. 685 (AB 685) and modifies occupational safety standards to require employers to provide notice and report information related to COVID-19 workplace exposure within one day of notice of the exposure. The bill also expanded Cal/OSHA’s authority to enforce COVID-19 related notice requirements and impose civil penalties for an employer’s failure to comply. This bill extends the applicability of AB 685 from January 1, 2023 to January 1, 2024. Among other provisions, the bill requires that if an employer receives notice of potential exposure to a “qualifying individual”, the employer must take specific steps to notify employees within one business day. The bill prohibits employers from requiring employees to disclose medical information unless otherwise required by law and from retaliating against a worker for disclosing a positive COVID-19 test or diagnosis or order to quarantine or isolate. Additionally, the bill provides that if an employer is notified that the number of its COVID-19 cases meets the definition of an outbreak, as defined by the California Department of Public Health, the employer must notify its local public health agency within 48 hours of the names, number, occupation and worksite of the “qualifying individuals”. Further, AB 685 included potential COVID-19 exposure as an imminent hazard and expanded Cal/OSHA’s authority to prohibit entry into the workplace on this basis. Any restrictions imposed by Cal/OSHA must be limited to the immediate area where the imminent hazard exists and must not prohibit any entry within a workplace that does not cause a risk of infection. Finally, Cal/OSHA may not impose restrictions that would materially interrupt “critical government functions” essential to ensuring public health and safety, or the delivery of electrical power or water.