Call or email us anytime
(805) 484-0333
Search Guide
Today is Thursday, April 25, 2024 -

News Articles

Report Contrasts Golden State COVID Reporting With Neighbor

  • State: California
  • Topic: WEST
  • - Popular with: Legal
  • -  1 share

Nonprofit news organization CalMatters reported that while Oregon has focused on transparency in reporting workplace outbreaks of COVID-19, officials in California are shielding businesses to avoid shaming them in a move that has workers and public health experts “worried.”

Since May, officials in Oregon have published weekly reports listing the names and addresses of businesses with 30 or more employees with five or more positive tests. Oregon officials issue daily reports when a business has an outbreak with more than 20 workers who test positive, according to the report.

In California, 58 individual counties decide how they want to report workplace outbreaks. State officials have advised employers to notify workers about positive cases, but they’re not required to do so.

California lawmakers this year enacted a bill that will require employers to notify workers when someone at a job site tests positive starting Jan. 1. AB 685, by Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes, D-San Bernardino, will also require employers that experience an outbreak to report to top local health agencies the names and occupations of those who test positive.

AB 685 will also give the Division of Occupational Safety and Health the authority to close businesses or work sites where it deems COVID-19 is an “imminent hazard to employees.”

CalMatters reports a provision that would have disclosed workplace outbreaks was stripped from the bill over concerns that businesses would not self-report positive tests if the information were going to be released to the public.

“Today, Oregonians know nearly as much as their public health officials about the number of workers who have died or been infected as a result of workplace exposures,” the report reads. “It’s 37 deaths and 8,605 cases. Californians don’t know.”

Information posted to the California Workers’ Compensation Institute website shows 50,592 COVID-19 claims filed between January and Nov. 2, including 282 deaths.

No Comments

Log in to post a comment

Close


Do not post libelous remarks. You are solely responsible for the postings you input. By posting here you agree to hold harmless and indemnify WorkCompCentral for any damages and actions your post may cause.

Advertisements

Upcoming Events

  • May 5-8, 2024

    Risk World

    Amplify Your Impact There’s no limit to what you can achieve when you join the global risk managem …

  • May 13-15, 2024

    NCCI's Annual Insights Symposi

    Join us May 13–15, 2024, for NCCI's Annual Insights Symposium (AIS) 2024, the industry’s premier e …

  • May 13-14, 2024

    CSIA Announces the 2024 Annual

    The Board of Managers is excited to announce that the CSIA 2024 Annual Meeting and Educational Con …

Workers' Compensation Events

Social Media Links


WorkCompCentral
c/o Business Insurance Holdings, Inc.
PO Box 1010
Greenwich, CT 06836
(805) 484-0333