Gov. Newsom Signs AB 2693: Employer Mandatory COVID Reporting

On September 29, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 2693, by Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes (D-Ontario). AB 2693 amends Labor Code Sections 6325 and 6409.6 relating to COVID-19 exposure in the workplace.

Existing California law requires the posting of certain notices relating to possible hazards to employees in the workplace related to COVID-19 infection. Existing law repeals those provisions on January 1, 2023.

Sections 1 and 2 of the bill amend Labor Code Section 6325 to repeal the January 1, 2023 sunset date and replace it with January 1, 2024, thereby extending it by one year.

Section 3 of the bill amends Labor Code Section 6409.6(a) applies “in each worksite of the employer” and requires the employer to prominently display a notice in all places where notices to employees concerning workplace rules or regulations are customarily posted. That required notice must provide all of the following:

• The dates on which an employee, or employee of a subcontracted employer, with a confirmed case of COVID-19 was on the worksite premises within the infectious period.

• The location of the exposures, including the department, floor, building, or other area, but the location need not be so specific as to allow individual workers to be identified.

• Contact information for employees to receive information regarding COVID-19-related benefits to which the employee may be entitled under applicable federal, state, or local laws.

• Contact information for employees to receive the cleaning and disinfection plan that the employer is implementing per the guidelines of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the COVID-19 prevention program per the Cal-OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards.

In addition, Section 6409.6(b) requires the above notice to be posted within one business day from when the employer receives a notice of potential exposure and remain posted for not less than 15 calendar days.

Section 6409.6(c) requires the above notice to be posted on the employee portal when the employer posts other workplace notices on an existing employee portal.

Section 6409.6(d) requires the above notice to be in English and the language understood by the majority of employees.

Section 6409.6(e) allows the employer, as an alternative to the above notice, to provide written notice to all employees, and employers of subcontracted employees, of a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the manner the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information.

Section 6409.6(f) requires the employer to keep a log of all the dates the notice required was posted at each worksite of the employer. Also, the employer must allow the Labor Commissioner to access these records.

Section 6409.6(g) requires an employer to provide a written notice to the exclusive representative, if any, of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and of employees who had close contact with the confirmed cases of COVID-19 within one business day. This notice must contain the same information as would be required in an incident report in a Cal/OSHA Form 300 injury and illness log unless the information is inapplicable or unknown to the employer.

Section 6409.6(g) provides definitions for the following terms: “close contact” (changed to simply be an individual who has been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 as defined by Cal-OSHA); “confirmed case of COVID-19”; “COVID-19”; “infectious period”; “notice of potential exposure”; and, “worksite”. Note that the definitions for the terms “high risk exposure period” and “qualifying individual” were removed.

Section 6409.6(o) extends the sunset date of this section until January 1, 2024.