Kim Silvers, SPHR, PHRca
If you have employees in Sacramento, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, or San Mateo County, you’ll want to be familiar with the additional COVID-19 related ordinances these city/county governments have gifted their employers with this month.
Since many of our clients are in the Sacramento area, we’ll review those highlights here. Don’t be lulled into thinking these new ordinances are only set out to cover larger employers (those with 500 or more employees, usually counting total U.S. personnel) that would not be covered by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FCCRA). Some of these provisions cover all employers. And some of the new provisions are more expansive than the FFCRA. It will be a challenge to manage all of this if you have employees working in several of these cities.
The Sacramento Worker Protection, Health and Safety Ordinance that runs until December 31, 2020 speaks to all Sac Town employers’ requirements to have physical distancing, mitigation, and cleaning protocols and practices as follows:
- Daily cleaning and disinfection of high-touch areas in accordance with guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Maintenance of cleaning protocols established by the employer for all other areas of the employment site.
- Establish protocols for action upon discovery that the employment site has been exposed to a person who is a probable or confirmed case of COVID-19.
- Providing employees access to regular handwashing with soap, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes.
- Cleaning of common areas – including break rooms, locker rooms, dining facilities, rest rooms, conference rooms, and training rooms – daily and between shifts.
- Providing face coverings for employees to wear during their time at the employment site, and mandating their wear while on the site, except to the extent an employee can maintain physical distance of six feet from other persons or is using break time to eat or drink, in accordance with the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Employers shall establish protocols specifically regarding how it will ensure proper physical distancing.
- Informing all employees of the required protocols and practices in this section, in writing, in English and any language spoken by at least 10% of the employees who are at the work site.
You may have this general plan in place as you updated your Injury and Illness Prevention Program with the Exposure Control Plan we suggested a while back. However, it is now required that employees be informed (read – “trained”) on such and possibly translated if you have at least 10% of your staff speaking another language.
New Paid Sick Leave for Larger Employers in Sacramento
Larger employers (those with 500 or more employees) are now required to offer up to 80 hours of supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) to full-time employees and a pro-rated amount for part- time employees.
An employee who is unable to work or telework may use SPSL due to the following:
- The employee is subject to quarantine or isolation by federal, state, or local order due to COVID-19, or is caring for a family member who is quarantined or isolated due to COVID-19.
- The employee is advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 or is caring for a family member who is so advised by a health-care provider.
- The employee chooses to take off work because the employee is over the age of 65 years or is considered vulnerable due to a compromised immune system. [Note that this is not covered in the FFCRA.]
- The employee is off work because the employer it works for or specific work location temporarily ceases operation due to a public health order or other public official’s recommendation. [Note that this is not covered in the FFCRA]
- The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and is seeking a medical diagnosis.
- The employee is caring for a minor child because a school or daycare is closed due to COVID-19.
You may find the other city ordinances here:
The Santa Rosa City Ordinance is here & in effect until December 31, 2020.
The County of San Mateo Ordinance is here & in effect until December 31, 2020.
San Francisco’s “Back to Work” Ordinance is here [and it’s a very different ordinance from the others.] This Emergency Ordinance temporarily creates a right to reemployment for certain employees laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic if their employer seeks to fill the same position previously held by a laid-off worker, or a substantially similar position. It’s in effect until September 2, 2020.
And in case you’re taking a trip to San Francisco… Last week, the City and County of San Francisco updated their Face Covering Order with these requirements:
- Everyone must wear a Face Covering when outside their residence if anyone else other than members of their household or living unit is within six feet and must start putting it on early enough to meet the six foot requirement;
- Everyone must wear a Face Covering when outdoors where distances between people change frequently and often come to six feet or less, such as a busy sidewalk;
- Everyone must wear a Face Covering in the workplace except when in a completely enclosed private space or an isolated area not regularly used by others;
- Everyone must wear a Face Covering when in shared areas of buildings including lobbies, common rooms, hallways, laundry areas, food preparation spaces, and bathrooms; and
- Everyone must wear a Face Covering when preparing food or other items for sale or distribution to people who are not members of their household or living
People may remove their Face Covering when they are outdoors if they are alone or with only members of their household or living unit and nobody else is within six feet. People may remove their Face Covering when otherwise permitted by a Health Officer order or directive.
This Order includes certain specific exceptions. You may find the full order here.
Los Angeles County passed an Ordinance here, which is similar to the City of Los Angeles Ordinance here for employers with 500 or more employees. These were early in the game and issued in the spring.
Please call us if you have questions or want to think out loud about federal, state, or local COVID-19 management requirements. They change frequently.