Businesses sue California over COVID-19 workplace rules that require testing, sick pay [The Sacramento Bee]
Dec. 17 Groups representing small businesses sued California’s workplace regulator Wednesday, saying the agency exceeded its authority and overburdened companies when it passed new COVID-19 rules a month ago.
California’sDivision of Occupational Safety and Health, commonly called Cal-OSHA, approved strict emergency regulations on Nov. 19. The regulations require companies to test employees at no cost during COVID-19 outbreaks, provide protective equipment and preserve workers’ pay and benefits when they miss work because of the virus.
Those rules, along with requirements to exclude employees from work after virus exposures, could cost California companies millions of dollars, according to the lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the National Retail Federation and three California businesses.
Dive Brief:
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has cited two companies for violations related to the falling death of a worker during construction at SoFi Stadium in June, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The newspaper said Fabritec Structures and ZD Inspections received five citations related to the death of Juan Becerra, who was employed by ZD Inspections and fell approximately 120 feet through a roof opening that wasn’t protected by temporary railings, toeboards or covers. Total proposed penalties amount to more than $54,000.
In addition, the article said ZD Inspections was cited for additional serious violations, including employees not wearing “personal fall arrest, person restraint or positioning systems.” The L.A. County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s report on Becerra’s death noted that no “cat line” or safety line was attached to the worker’s harness. The companies have a right to appeal the citations.
Construction workers have highest asymptomatic COVID positivity rates, Curative study finds Written by Amy Ta, produced by Rosalie Atkinson
Dec. 16, 2020Coronavirus MORE Construction workers frame one of the last units of condos at the Westerly townhomes in Simi Valley on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. The development has seen an uptick in sales during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by JUAN CARLO/THE STAR via Imagn Content Services, LL.
One reason why COVID-19 spreads so quickly is because a lot of people who have it never show symptoms between 20-40% of all cases. A new report finds that certain professions seem to have higher rates of asymptomatic infection than others. Construction workers, who are deemed essential, top that list.
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On December 14, 2020, the California Department of Health (CDPH) issued guidance shortening the quarantine period from
14 days to 10 days for
asymptomatic “close contacts” of an infected individual (those who were within six feet of an infected individual for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period),
with or without testing.
The new guidance also permits, during critical staffing shortages, the following categories of essential critical infrastructure workers to return to work after Day 7 from the date of their last exposure if they received a negative PCR test result for COVID-19 from a specimen collected after Day 5:
Republicans’ proposed COVID liability shield could undo California worker protections, advocates warn [Los Angeles Times]
Frontline California workers could lose protections if Republican efforts to limit corporate liability is included in a new stimulus package, advocates warn.
Republicans have pushed legislation for months to keep businesses from being sued if customers or employees contract the virus. But advocates are alarmed that language proposed by Senate Republican leaders is being weighed as part of the next economic aid deal that would prevent the nation’s workplace safety overseers the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or similar state-level agencies from enforcing certain COVID-related safety regulations.