CAL/OSHA Adopts Written COVID-19 Prevention Plan

Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurances Services, Inc.

On November 19, 2020, California’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) Standards Board adopted temporary emergency standards to protect workers from COVID-19. These standards are expected to go into effect November 30, 2020, upon approval from the Office of Administrative Law.

Now, what does this mean for California employers? It means employers must have a written COVID-19 Prevention Plan. This written plan must include and address specific key points outlined by Cal/OSHA. These standards require employers to establish a system for communicating information about prevention, positive cases to employees, how cases will be identified and evaluated, a process for investigation and responding to cases, correction of hazards, training, physical distancing requirements, face covering, site-specific controls, reporting/recordkeeping and access, preventing the spread of the virus to other employees and a defined return-to-work criteria after a COVID-19 recovery.

Rancho Mesa Insurance has developed a COVID-19 Prevention Plan template for its clients to assist in the implementation and compliance of the new standards. Updated versions may become available as the standards are approved by the end of the month.

In addition, Rancho Mesa’s Risk Management Center offers additional tools employers can utilize to make sure they are in compliance with the new standards. Track daily COVID-19 symptoms in the Audit Track screen and deploy free online COVID-19 training for all employees from any mobile device. Our library of COVID-19 resources continues to grow and is available for our clients to access from the Risk Management Center and the RM365 HRAdvantage Portal™.   

For information on how to access these resources, please reach out to your Client Services contact.

Download COVID-19 Prevention Plan Template

Download COVID-19 Prevention Plan Template

Court Agrees Temporary COVID-19 Standards Are Not Needed

Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

On June 11th, 2020, the D.C. Circuit Court denied the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations’ (AFL-CIO) lawsuit against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for not issuing an emergency temporary worker safety standard due to COVID-19.

As a volunteer labor union group that works to improve the lives of the U.S. workforce, the AFL-CIO wants OSHA to issue a temporary worker safety standard addressing the risks of COVID-19 in the workplace. However, an Emergency Temporary Standard is authorized by OSHA under certain limited conditions. It must be determined that workers are in danger of exposure to toxic substances or agents that can be physically harmful. Plus, a temporary standard then serves as a proposed permanent standard.

The D.C. Circuit Court denied the lawsuit against OSHA due to the fact that government officials are learning new information about COVID-19 weekly, if not daily. An appropriate response to the union’s concern is not a fixed rule, at this time. And, a standard specific to COVID-19 would likely not need to become a permanent standard in the future.

Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Labor states, "We are pleased with the decision from the D.C. Circuit, which agreed that OSHA reasonably determined that its existing statutory and regulatory tools are protecting America's workers and that an emergency temporary standard is not necessary at this time.”

While a new standard to combat COVID-19 isn’t necessary because of existing standards, OSHA has provided many resources for employers to assist in maintaining worker safety. Their “Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19” provides information on the virus, how it could affect a workplace, steps employers can take to reduce the risk to employees, and additional services and programs available to employers. The “Guidance on Returning to Work” offers steps for reopening, applicable OSHA Standards, and a frequently asked questions section. In addition, employers can find news updates and resources on OSHA’s COVID-19 webpage.

Update Your Handbook with Ease Using the RM365 HRAdvantage™ Handbook Builder

Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

The RM365 HRAdvantage™ portal offers an easy-to-follow process to build a company handbook from scratch. Choose from a single state or multi-state based handbook with the ability to include your own custom policies. The RM365 HRAdvantage™ portal helps keep your handbook up to date and compliant by sending alerts when policies change or need to be included.

Once your handbook is complete, you can easily rearrange your table of contents and distinguish between required, best practices and custom policies within your handbook. Policies in your handbook are chosen based on your state and employee count. Have a question about a policy or requirement and can’t find it in the portal?  Reach out to one of our HR experts through the portal via messaging or phone.   

Almost every day, the powers are announcing new guidelines and procedures for COVID-19 safety. With the help of the RM365 HRAdvantage™ portal, you can access a number of forms, fact sheets and posters for COVID-19 health and safety. We’ve made it easy to access these resources by linking them to the homepage. Find materials such as, sample work from home policies, sample telecommuting agreements and furlough letters. Simply click on ‘Comply’ in the menu bar and the COVID-19 link under ’Popular Tools’.

With so many of us working from home or under strict guidelines, now is the perfect time to review, modify or build your company handbook. Ready to get started building your handbook? Register for the “RM365 HRAdvantage Handbook Builder Tutorial” webinar today!

Have You Brushed Up on Your ABC’s?

Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

California Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5), better known as the “Gig Worker’s Bill” became law on January 1, 2020 and is designed to reclassify many independent contractors as employees for purposes of wages and benefits. What does this bill mean and how does it affect you??

Previously, employers used the “Borello test” to identify someone as either an independent contractor or employee. In most cases, AB 5 changes the standards to the new “ABC test,” which makes it much more challenging for a person to be classified as an independent contractor. Both the Borello test and the new ABC test assume that the worker is an employee and the employer must prove that the worker is actually an independent contractor.

According to the new law, “a person providing labor or services for remuneration shall be considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that all of the following conditions are satisfied:

(A) The person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact.

(B) The person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business.

(C) The person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.”

If you have hired an independent contractor who does not pass the ABC test, they likely will now be classified as an employee with minimum wage, unemployment insurance, sick leave, and income tax and social security withholdings. Independent contractors are not entitled to these benefits.

Doctors, lawyers, hair stylists, and insurance agents are just some of the more common independent contractor jobs that are not affected by AB 5. At this time, independent contractors such as architects and engineers are exempt from the ABC Test, but truck owner-operators, surveyors, and geologists are not exempt. In January 2022, contractors will not be able to hire owner-operators truck drivers. They will have to work with a company that has drivers who are employees.

AB 5 is intended to reduce the misclassification of workers and bring equality to the workplace. Although the bill has good intentions, it could negatively affect the way many companies operate. The ABC test has strict guidelines to be considered an independent contractor. With the reins tightening, it will be difficult for companies to enlist independent contractors to supplement their workforce when needed. Employers will be forced to hire actual employees or hold off on hiring employees all together.

For specific questions about AB 5 and how it will affect your business, contact our HR Experts via the RM365 HRAdvantage™ portal.

Cal/OSHA Updates: AB 1805 Changes Definition of Serious Injury or Illness

Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

For reporting purposes, California Assembly Bill 1805 (AB 1805) outlines new definitions for what is considered a serious injury or illness. These changes were made to bring California’s laws more in line with Federal OSHA reporting standards. The changes include:

• Employers must now report all inpatient hospitalizations (regardless of the length of stay), unless the inpatient hospitalization is for medial observation or diagnostic testing.

• The phrase “loss of any member of the body” has been changed to “amputation” or the “loss of an eye” as needing to be reported.

• Workplace violence resulting in a serious injury, illness, or death that falls under the Penal Code are now considered reportable.

• Serious injury or death caused by an accident occuring in a construction zone on a public street or highway must now be reported.

• A “serious exposure” is now “any exposure of an employee to hazardous substances when the exposure occurs as a result of an incident, accident, emergency, or exposure over time and is in a degree or amount sufficient to create a realistic possibility death or physical harm in the future could result from the actual hazard created by the exposure.”

As of January 1, 2020, the changes to AB 1805 are in effect. Make sure your human resources, safety manger, and supervisors are aware of these changes and start the New Year off on the right foot.

Cal/OSHA Updates: AB 1804 Changes How Injuries and Illnesses Are Reported

Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

As of January 1, 2020, California Assembly Bill 1804 (AB 1804) changed how an employer reports a serious employee injury or illness to Cal/OSHA. The bill removes the option to submit the report via email and replaces it with an “online mechanism,” according to Labor Code section 6409.1 (b). Reports may continue to be made via phone.

Until Cal/OSHA implements an online mechanism for collecting serious injury and illness reports like Fed/OSHA, emailed reports will be accepted. However, reports submitted by phone are always recommended over an emailed report. Reports submitted via phone or an online mechanism allows Cal/OSHA to ensure vital information is collected that is necessary to evaluate the seriousness of the injury or illness.  

Cal/OSHA has not provided an estimated implementation date for the online report submission option.

As a reminder, California employers are required to report serious injury or illness of employees immediately. Serious injuries or illnesses must be reported as soon as practically possible. Deaths must be reported within 8 hours. All other injuries or illnesses must be reported once the employer learns of or should have known of the serious injury or illness.

It’s OSHA 300A Time

Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

The holidays have come and gone and here we are at the end of another great year. Year-end means calendar updates, process changes and document reviews, as well as time to prepare for filing your OSHA 300A form. 

The OSHA 300A form is a summary of injuries and illnesses which occurred on the job during the calendar year. The form must be filed electronically on the Injury Track Application (ITA) starting January 2, 2020. Deadline for 2019 data submissions is March 2, 2020. It must be displayed from February 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020.

Don’t forget, if you are a Rancho Mesa client and utilize the Risk Management Center Incident Track feature, you have access to generate the Cal/OSHA 300A form and export it to a CSV file. From there you can upload it to the OSHA website.

Rancho Mesa has put together a 5-minute tutorial video on how to generate the electronic 300A form data file from the Risk Management Center, that can be uploaded to the Injury Tracking Application website for reporting the data.

For questions about how to track the injury and illness data in the Risk Management Center, contact Alyssa Burley at (619) 438-6869.