The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread throughout much of the world, including California. Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency in California in early March 2020. LCW will continue to monitor the evolving situation and update our clients frequently. Below are recommendations for California public agencies on how to best deal and respond to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 in the workplace.

COVID Briefings for Public Safety Agencies

• 4-29-2020: COVID-19 Testing and Law Enforcement
• 4-24-2020: COVID Briefing: Legal Issues with Taking Employee Temperatures

Special Bulletins & Updates

• California Department of Public Health Revises the Definition of a COVID-19 Outbreak
• What Local Governments Need to Know about the Upcoming End to California’s COVID-19-Related State of Emergency
• California’s New Permanent Standards for COVID-19-Related Workplace Health and Safety Are Now in Effect
• California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board Promulgates New Permanent Standards for COVID-19
• Updated Definition of “Close Contact” and Requirements in the Event of a Workplace Exposure
• Governor Newsom Signs Into Law Assembly Bill 152, Extending COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Through December 31, 2022
• California’s Occupational Safety And Health Standards Board Is Considering New Regulations Addressing COVID-19
• CDPH Rescinds Order Requiring that Workers in High-Risk Settings Verify their Vaccine Status or Submit to Weekly Testing
• Federal COVID-19 Prevention Guidance Shifts Focus
• The EEOC Updates Its COVID-19 and ADA Guidance Addressing Workplace Testing and Vaccination
• Cal/OSHA to Consider Permanent COVID-19 Regulation
• CDPH Redefines “Close Contact” and “Infectious Period,” Changing Workplace COVID-19 Prevention Requirements
• OSHSB Readopts the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards
• CDPH Updates Isolation and Quarantine Recommendations
• Updated CDPH Guidance Removes Face Covering Requirements in Most Settings
• CDPH Relaxes Face Covering Requirements
• Governor Enacts New COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Law
• State Legislature Considers Bill to Reauthorize SPSL
• The Governor and Legislative Leaders Announce Plans to Reauthorize COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave
• The Supreme Court of the United States Blocks Federal OSHA Mandate
• CDPH Removes Isolation and Quarantine Requirements for Certain Health Care and Emergency Medical Services Personnel
• DOL Updates Rules Regarding Health Plan Coverage of COVID-19 Tests
• Cal/OSHA Clarifies Workplace Exclusion and Return-to-Work Requirements
• CDPH Adopts Shortened Isolation/Quarantine Periods with Unclear Application to Workplaces
• CDC Shortens Isolation/Quarantine Period
• CDPH Requires Workers at Health Care Facilities to Receive Vaccine Boosters
• Court Decision Paves Way for Forthcoming Vaccination/Testing Requirement
• EEOC Releases Updated Guidance Clarifying When COVID-19 May Constitute a Disability
• OSHSB Adopts Regulatory Amendments to the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards
• CDPH Issues Q&A on Face Covering Guidance
• CDPH Issues Statewide Mask Mandate Effective December 15, 2021
• New Federal Restrictions for International Travel
• OSHSB Delays Consideration of Vaccination, Testing, and Face Covering Regulations
• OSHA Regulation Encourages Vaccination Against COVID-19
• EEOC Publishes New Guidance on Religious Accommodation Requests
• Modified Reporting Requirements for COVID-19 Exposure
• CDPH Reduces Required Quarantine Period for Certain Unvaccinated Employees Following a Close Contact to COVID-19 Exposure
• What to Expect After the Expiration of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave
• Federal COVID-19 Action Plan May Require Employers in California Adopt Vaccination or Weekly Testing Policies
• The American Rescue Plan Act’s COBRA Subsidy Soon Expires & Employers are Required to Notify Impacted Individuals
• New Qualifying Reasons for Tax Credits under the American Rescue Plan Act
• The Department of Justice Determines that Employers May Require Vaccinations Approved Under the Emergency Use Authorization
• PERB Holds that Mandating Vaccinations is Outside the Scope of Representation
• Requesting Proof of Employees’ Vaccination, Confidentiality Requirements, & Use and Disclosure of Employee Vaccination Information
• Newly Adopted Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Regulations Remove Certain Requirements Related to Physical Distancing, Face Coverings and Partitions
• The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board Withdraws Its Proposed Amendments to the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Regulations, Returns Workplaces to the Status Quo
• Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board Schedules a Special Meeting for June 9, 2021 to Consider Additional Amendments to the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Regulations
• Amended Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Regulations Require that Employers Update their COVID-19 Prevention Programs and Take Other Actions
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Provides Updated Guidance Concerning COVID-19 Vaccinations and Vaccination Records
• Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board Delays Consideration of Proposed Amendments to the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Regulations
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Release Guidance for Vaccinated Individuals
• Treasury Issues Interim Final Rule on Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and Opens Process for Eligible Governments to Request Funding from the Fund
• Department of Industrial Relations Clarifies Reason for Employee Use of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave for Closure or Unavailability of the Employee’s Child’s School or Place of Care
• Department of Labor Releases Model COBRA Notices for the American Rescue Plan Act’s Employer-Provided COBRA Subsidy
• Qualification for Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery (“CLFR”) Fund Payments for Local Governmental Entities and Pre-gAward Requirements for Such Payments
• Governor Newsom Enacts SB95, Obliating Most Public Employers to Provide COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave to their Employees
• President Biden Approves the $1.9 Trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
• Senate Passes the American Rescue Plan Act, Promising Critical Funding to Local Governments and the Potential for Additional Relief to Public Employees 
• Identifying and Addressing the Legal Issues Implicated by Voluntary Employer-Sponsored COVID-19 Vaccination Programs
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health Update Quarantine Guidance for Vaccinated Employees
• CDPH Updates Travel Advisory to Revise the Recommended Quarantine Period Following Interstate and International Travel and to Warn Against Non-Essential Intrastate Travel
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) Updates Guidance Concerning the Permissibility of Requiring COVID-19 Vaccinations
• Governor Issues Executive Order Revising Cal/OSHA Quarantine Guidance and Addressing Other COVID-19 Related Issues
• Responding to COVID-19 Outbreaks 
• CDPH Reduces Quarantine Period Following “Close Contact” Exposures to Align with CDC Guidance
• Permissibility of Requiring that Public Employees Receive a COVID-19 Vaccination
• Governor Newsom Announces New Regional Stay At Home Order
• CDC Reduces Recommended Quarantine Period Following “Close Contact” Exposures to Individuals with COVID-19
• Cal/OSHA Board Adopts Emergency Regulations Regarding COVID-19
• California Department of Public Health Issues Updated Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings
• California Department of Public Health Issues COVID-19 Travel Advisory Recommending 14-Day Self Quarantine for Any Non-Essential Travel Out of State
• Governor Newsom Signs SB 1159 and AB 685 Into Law Impacting COVID-19 Related Workers’ Compensation Coverage and Creating New Notice and Reporting Requirements Related to COVID-19 Workplace Exposures
• Department of Labor Issues Revised Regulations Concerning the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
• Assembly Bill 1867 Provides Statutory Entitlement to “COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave” to Public Employees Exempted from Receipt of Leave Benefits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”)
• Governor Newsom and the California Department of Public Health Announce New Framework for Reopening
• Public Agencies Can Now Apply for FEMA Public Assistance
• California Department of Public Health Orders Face Coverings in Nearly All Workplace Situations
• EEOC Issues Updated Guidance Regarding the Permissibility of Antibody Testing Under the ADA
• Update: State Issues New Guidance for Reopening of Businesses And Office Spaces
• State Issues New Guidance For Reopening Of Businesses And Office Spaces
• Governor Newsom Issues Executive Order Establishing Workers’ Compensation Presumption Regarding Contraction of COVID-19
• Understanding How The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (“PUA”) Program Affects Employee and Independent Contractor Eligibility For Unemployment Benefits Under The CARES Act
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Issues New Guidance Authorizing Employers to Test Employees for COVID-19
• CalPERS Issues Circular Letter Explaining How Leave Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act Should be Tracked and Reported
• Guide to Understanding the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (“PEUC”) Program under the CARES Act
• Interaction between Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Paid Family Leave
• Ensuring that Employees with Reduced Hours Qualify for Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (“FPUC”) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”)
• Determining the Employees Essential to Your Agency’s Function and Complying with Executive Order N-33-20
• Department of Labor Issues Temporary Regulations Concerning Paid Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”)
• How Public Agencies Should Communicate With Employees About Their Potential Exposure to COVID-19 In The Workplace
• UPDATE: March 30, 2020, Governor Newsom Issues Executive Order Extending One-Year Statute of Limitations for Administrative Investigations of Police Officers
• Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act Enacted into Law
• Update, March 26, 2020, 9:00am, Department of Labor Releases FFCRA Employee Rights Notice
• Revised Special Bulletin: Families First Coronavirus Response Act Enacted Into Law
• COVID 19: The Duty to Meet and Confer and Other Public Agency Obligations During A Public Health Emergency
• Governor Newsom Amends Brown Act Changes in Subsequent Executive Order
• Update: CalPERS Suspends Retired Annuitant Work Hour Limitation during COVID-19 Emergency
• UPDATE, March 18, 2020, 9:09 a.m. House Passes Dramatically Revised Version Of Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Bill Finally Moves To Senate
• UPDATE, March 16, 2020, 5:49 p.m. Tax Credits for Private Employers in Families First Coronavirus Response Act
• County Health Officials Order Six Bay Area Counties to Shelter in Place Due to COVID-19 
• Update, March 16, 2020, 1:20 p.m. Governor Newsom Issues Guidance That All People Over The Age Of 65 and People With Chronic Conditions Should Self Isolate
• House Passes Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Bill Moves To Senate For Vote
• Brown Act Issues After Governor Newsom’s Executive Order
• How Public Employers Should Respond to Employees’ Exposure to COVID-19

Related Training

• What Employers Should Know About the New SPSL Obligations (webinar on demand)
• Calculating the Regular Rate for FFCRA Leave (webinar-on-demand)
• Critical Wage & Hour Considerations Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic (webinar-on-demand)
• The ADA During a Pandemic: What Employers Need to Know Now (webinar-on-demand)