California Bills Signed into Law Related to Workers’ Comp
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a handful of bills related to workers’ compensation.
Following is a summary of the bills compiled by the Worker’s Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau:
Senate Bill No. 1159
Went into effect immediately as an urgency statute and will remain in effect until Jan. 1, 2023. The bill has created a disputable presumption that an employee’s COVID-19 infection arose out of and in the course of employment if the employee is tested or diagnosed as COVID-19 positive within 14 days of working at their place of employment (not including their residence) and at their employer’s direction.
The bill has codified the governor’s Executive Order N-62-20 for between March 19 and July 5. For on and after July 6, the bill has provisions relative to the disputable presumption for first responders and healthcare providers who provide direct care to patients, and employees who contract COVID-19 as the result of an “outbreak” at their place of employment.
Assembly Bill No. 685
Modifies occupational safety standards to require employers to provide notice and report information related to COVID-19 workplace exposure. It also expands Cal/OSHA’s authority to enforce COVID-19 notice requirements and impose penalties for an employer’s failure to comply. The changes will be in effect from Jan. 1, 2021 until Jan. 1, 2023.
Assembly Bill No. 2257
Went into effect immediately as an urgency statute. With respect to wages, workers’ comp and other benefits, there is a presumption that an entity’s workers are employees unless the worker meets the “ABC Test.”
To qualify as an independent contractor, the ABC Test requires that: 1) The worker is free from the control and direction in the performance of the work, both under the contract for performance of the work and in fact; 2) The worker performs work outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; 3) The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity.
Several professions and business relationships are exempt from the application of the ABC Test and are instead governed by the multifactor test in S.G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (1989) (Borello Test).