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All health care providers, including dentists, will soon be required to comply with a new federal regulation that aims to enhance a patient’s right to access their health information. Under the new rule, patients will have greater and, at times, immediate access to health information.

Federal and state laws requiring employers to provide COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave and voluntary sick leave tax credits are set to expire Sept. 30; however, several cities and counties in California implemented their own supplemental paid leave ordinances that include small-employer obligations.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on April 16 signed a bill that requires employers in certain industries statewide to rehire employees who were laid off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dental practice owners who hire and employ an individual janitorial staff member to clean their dental office are considered covered employers and must comply with the new obligations. 

A recent California Supreme Court ruling that requires stricter meal practices in the workplace underscores the responsibility of dental practice owners to enforce break policies that are compliant with California laws.

The California Supreme Court on Jan. 14 upheld its 2018 decision that employers’ use of the ABC test to classify their workers applies retroactively for the purposes of California wage orders.

A new law that expands the list of individuals who are required to report suspected child abuse and neglect could apply to certain dental practice employees. 

Dental practice owners should be prepared for major changes to the California Family Rights Act. The changes take effect Jan. 1, 2021, and will impact very small businesses who will soon be required to provide 12 workweeks of job-protected unpaid family leave benefits to eligible employees annually. 

Dental practice schedules and production have certainly been a rollercoaster in 2020. As we near the end of the year, many practices are reporting a slight decline in patient volume compared to the third quarter. 

The manufacturer of a decontamination system used to decontaminate certain N95 respirators for health care personnel received a warning notice last week from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for “failure to comply with regulatory requirements for medical device reporting.”