The California State Legislature recently passed AB 685, which will require public agencies to notify employees if they have potentially been exposed to COVID-19 at a worksite, according to www.csda.net. If signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), the bill would take effect Jan. 1, 2021.
AB 685 includes the following requirements:
- If an employer or representative of the employer receives a notice of potential exposure to COVID-19, the employer must take all 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 typically uses to communicate employment-related information
- Provide a written notice to the exclusive representative, if any, of those employees
- 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 law
- Notify all employees and the employers of subcontracted employees and the exclusive representative, if any, regarding the disinfection and safety plan the employer plans to implement and complete per federal guidelines
- A notification is necessary when there is a laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19, as defined by the State Department of Public Health; positive COVID-19 diagnosis from a licensed health care provider; COVID-19-related order to isolate provided by a public health official; or death resulting from 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 its local health authority, who will in turn report to the California Department of Public Health; the department must make occupation and industry information received available on its websites in a manner that allows the public to track outbreaks.
- An employer must maintain records of the written notifications required for a period of at least three years.
Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto AB 685; he is expected to sign it into law.
