STATE LAWS OFFER NEW PROTECTIONS TO WORKERS

Companies must report virus cases, provide workers’ comp

California companies must warn their workers of any potential exposure to the coronavirus and must pay their employees workers compensation benefits if they get sick from COVID-19 under two laws that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Thursday.

Newsom, a Democrat, signed the laws over the objections of business groups, which have said they are “unworkable.”

One of the laws makes people who have the coronavirus eligible for workers compensation benefits. It takes effect immediately and applies to all workers in the state, but it treats first responders and health care workers differently than other employees.

Police officers, firefighters and health care workers — including janitors who are in contact with COVID-19 patients — are eligible if they get infected while on the job. All other workers are eligible only if

their workplaces experience an outbreak. For companies with between five and 100 employees, the law defines an outbreak as four or more infected workers at the same location within a two-week period.

For companies with more than 100 employees, outbreaks are defined as at least 4 percent of workers working in the same location being infected during a two-week period.

The rules for first responders and health care workers are permanent. The rules for all other workers expire on Jan. 1, 2023.

Workers won’t have to prove they were infected on

the job to get benefits because the law assumes they contracted the coronavirus while working. Instead, employers must prove that their workers did not get the virus while on the job to deny coverage.

In a letter to the state Legislature last month, business groups said they supported that protection for first responders and other groups at high risk of contracting the disease. But they said it wasn’t fair to apply the same standard for other occupations with a lower risk of infection. They called the law “unworkable for employers.”

Newsom signed the law, authored by Democratic state Sen. Jerry Hill, during a Zoom call with supporters, including labor union leaders and members.

Monique Hernandez, a nurse, said nine of her fellow nurses were infected, though she works in an area called a “clean unit” where she does not have contact with coronavirus patients.

“There is no such thing as a clean unit when it comes to COVID-19,” she said. “I took that very personal.”

The second law that Newsom signed mandates that companies inform employees if they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive, been ordered to isolate or died from the virus. That law, authored by Democratic Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes, takes effect Jan. 1.

Companies must do so within one business day of learning of the exposures or they can face fines issued by

the Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Business groups, including the California Chamber of Commerce, opposed the bill because they said the law is

vague and will be difficult for businesses to comply with, resulting in “good employers” facing hefty fines.

Newsom said that the two laws “prioritize our workforce,”

including front-line workers he said politicians “pay a lot of lip service to, but often we don’t back up.”