Question: I haven’t had an employee test positive for Covid-19 in a while. Someone just notified me this morning that they tested positive and need to stay home from work. What are the current requirements for an employer in this situation?
Answer: The good news for employers is that they may now treat Covid-19 like other illnesses in the workplace. With the exception of some recordkeeping requirements, the employer obligations specific to Covid-19 have all ended. Accordingly, the employer in this situation should follow the recordkeeping requirements below and allow this employee to utilize any accrued and unused paid sick leave and return when the employee feels better. In other words, other than the additional recordkeeping requirement, employers may now treat this situation just like they would with any other illness situation.
Many employers will recall the ever-changing regulations for Covid-19 during and after the Pandemic. The Covid-19 requirements were far-reaching and required employers to monitor whether employees tested positive for Covid-19, identify those employees worked near others during their infectious period, pay employees for making and testing, send notices to potentially affected employees, and keep the Covid-19 cases and close contacts away from the workplace for a certain number of days. The guidance on these topics (including the definitions for “infectious period,” “close contact,” and “isolation period”) frequently changed, making it nearly impossible for employers to track. Employers can finally breathe a sigh of relief. With one exception, all of these requirements have ended.
California Labor Code Section 6409.6, which had previously required COVID-19 notices to employees, ended on January 1, 2024. Most of the other Covid-19 requirements were contained in various Cal/OSHA regulations. Those regulations ended last month, with the exception of some reporting and recordkeeping requirements, which are set to expire in February of 2026. The end of these laws mean that employers may generally treat Covid-19 cases like other workplace illnesses. Employers no longer need to send special notices or require that employees quarantine for specific amounts of time.
The Covid-19 reporting and recordkeeping requirements that remain require employers to keep a record of and track all Covid-19 cases with the employee’s name, contact information, occupation, location where the employee worked, the date of the last day at the workplace, and the date of the positive Covid-19 test and/or Covid-19 diagnosis. These records must be retained for two years beyond the period in which the record is necessary to meet the requirements of this section. Employers must also provide information on Covid-19 cases to the local health department or various state health agencies upon request.
Although there is no longer a specific set of regulatory requirements relating to Covid-19 prevention in the workplace, employers in California must still:
- Maintain a safe and healthful place of employment;
- Establish, implement, and maintain an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP); and
- Identify, evaluate, and correct any unsafe or unhealthy conditions, work practices, or work procedures associated with Covid-19 if they identify Covid-19 as a workplace hazard at their place of employment.
Employers with specific questions about how to handle Covid-19 cases in the workplace should contact their employment counsel.