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As COVID-19-related litigation increases, courts are being called upon to interpret the scope of employers’ duties to protect their employees with relation to the virus.  Last week, a California federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by a spouse attempting to hold her husband’s employer liable for her COVID-19 infection.  The judge held that California’s worker’s…

On May 13th, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) updated its guidance for fully vaccinated individuals.  The new guidance identified circumstances in which fully vaccinated individuals do not have to wear face coverings, including indoors. However, fully vaccinated individuals must still comply with federal, state, local, or workplace guidance for face coverings. Earlier in…

On May 20th, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board will consider changes to COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”).

The proposed changes would still require employers to have an established written COVID-19 Prevention Program (“CPP”) that covers everything from training and communication with employees to the investigation of COVID-19 cases in the workplace.

However, there are…

As the federal government and state of California adjusted their COVID-19 guidance for vaccinated individuals, Cal OSHA remained silent on how vaccination affected the requirements under its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). While there had been discussions of revisions to the ETS, it was unclear if Cal OSHA would be able to release such…

Despite the Governor’s recent announcement for a tentative reopening of the state by June, California’s legislature has been busy passing COVID-19-related laws. At the end of March, the Governor signed Senate Bill 95, which resurrected and expanded supplemental paid sick leave. And more recently, the Governor signed Senate Bill 93, which implemented a statewide…

In November 2020, Cal OSHA passed the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS). Currently, the Standards are set to expire on October 2, 2021.

As outlined in prior articles, the ETS require that employers:

  • Establish, implement, and maintain an effective written COVID-19 Prevention Program.
  • Implement COVID-19 preventative measures.
  • Report information to their local

…

The COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave statute was signed into law a month ago and, despite a FAQ issued by the California Labor Commissioner, employers were faced with uncertainty as to whether their employee’s leave request qualified under the statute.  Fortunately, the Labor Commissioner has updated its FAQs to provide further clarity to employers.

Reasons …

20 million Californians have already been vaccinated, with all individuals age 16 and up eligible for vaccination effective April 15th. The Department of Fair Employment and Housing recently released updated COVID-19 guidance, which included guidance on employer vaccination programs. The California Labor Commissioner followed suit and released guidance regarding COVID-19 Testing and…