As coronavirus spread in California, companies suggested that infected employees could have contracted the virus anywhere, which would make them ineligible for workers' compensation for COVID-19 under which employers pay for medical care, partially replace wages, and provide death benefits.
But in May, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order creating a "rebuttable presumption" that frontline workers who contracted COVID-19 from mid-March to early July contracted it at work unless companies offer proof otherwise.
With Senate Bill 1159, which went into effect in September, the Legislature extended the order beyond July for first responders and health care workers, and applied the presumption to all other employees at companies with more than five workers, but only if they were at work during an outbreak. That is, when four employees test positive within two weeks for employers with 100 or fewer workers or 4% test positive at larger employers.
If you tested positive for Covid-19 during this period, and believe you may have contracted it in your workplace, you should contact Conexión Legal so we can advise you for free, and if applicable, achieve the best possible compensation with the support of a lawyer in California.
Additionally, a broader bill was filed that covered workers regardless of the size of the company they worked for, or whether an outbreak occurred.
As coronavirus outbreaks multiplied in workplaces, so did reports that companies were hiding infections. California's Division of Occupational Health and Safety, known as Cal/OSHA, adopted a set of COVID-19 emergency rules in November.
For this reason, Assembly Bill 685, which went into effect on January 1, tightens the rules requiring employers to report cases and the sanctions governing outbreaks.
Under the new law, a company is obligated to notify employees within one business day after learning of any possible exposure to COVID-19. It must also provide them with information about benefits such as workers' compensation and sick leave; about protection against retaliation and the company's antivirus safety measures.
The law also grants Cal/OSHA authority to immediately close a workplace where employees are considered to be at risk of "imminent danger" from the virus, without going through a 30-day administrative process.
Given that employees could contract the virus in their communities rather than through their coworkers, the group wrote, the publication of outbreak information is "a 'name and shame' provision... similar to a scarlet letter for customer-facing companies that have already been affected by mandatory COVID-19 closures and are struggling to survive".
With this, you as an employee should be protected under the protection of the law, and if applicable, you could demand workers' compensation for everything this entails, as long as you contracted it in the workplace.
For this reason, it is important that you contact Conexión Legal as soon as possible by calling 1800 201 1220 or writing to us via WhatsApp so you can receive our free consultation and seek the best possible compensation for these facts with a lawyer in California, who since the first day of 2021 has protected you as an employee in the state.
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