Stay Ahead of the Curve

Last week, on January 26, 2021, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance requiring all small and large private employers in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County to provide supplemental COVID-19 related paid sick leave (“SPSL”). Previously, the ordinance had applied to employers with 500 or more employees.

I am an employment attorney who has been advising California companies throughout the pandemic on their legal obligations related to COVID-19. At times, I have felt like the school nurse, telling managers how to screen employees for COVID symptoms and when to send them home. At other times, I have advised about leave requirements for parents whose childcare was closed, or notification procedures for outbreaks. As the rules came out with dizzying speed, our firm gave the advisements and heard the groans from exasperated business owners.

In the past two days, there have been significant changes to two sets of COVID-19 rules: (1) Cal/OSHA regulations governing employers, and (2) the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order. 1. Changes to Cal-OSHA rules Since November 2020, employers have been subject to Cal/OSHA regulations governing COVID-19, the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS). The ETS imposed requirements for, among other matters, face coverings, exclusion after exposure, physical distancing, testing, notice, and exclusion pay.

I was brought into my first caregiver case at the very beginning of my practice. A loving middle-aged daughter came to our office with a labor board complaint in her hand that had been filed against her 80 year old father’s estate. Her very elderly parents had been in need of caregivers for several years. They did not want to move out of their house in which they raised their five children, but they were no longer able to care for themselves. It started with one caregiver they found through a friend’s housekeeper. Then, through the years, as they needed additional hours of help, the caregiver presented a sister, an uncle, a niece, that were all ready to jump into action.

COVID regulations surrounding quarantine and isolation requirements continue to evolve for Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles County Health Officer has issued two orders, effective August 26, 2021, governing quarantine for those in close contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19 (Quarantine Order) and for those who develop COVID-19 themselves (Isolation Order). The Orders are available here: County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health Order of the Health Officer Emergency Quarantine Order and County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health Order of the Health Officer Emergency Isolation Order. These updates supersede the last quarantine and isolation orders issued in December 2020. Of note, is that employees may leave quarantine and isolation periods sooner than 10 days if they meet the criteria as set out below.*

Cal/OSHA rules on exclusion from, and return to, work On August 31, 2021, we provided an update on the new Los Angeles County isolation and quarantine orders. These govern when, and for how long, persons who either have COVID-19 (isolation order) or were in close contact with a COVID-19 case (quarantine order) must stay away from others (i.e., stay at home) and when this period of isolation/quarantine can end. These orders are similar to, but not quite the same as, Cal/OSHA’s regulations (the Emergency Temporary Standards, or ETS), which govern when employees in California who either have COVID-19 or were in close contact with a COVID-19 case must be excluded from the workplace and when this period of exclusion can end.