CDA members can rely on CDA Practice Support’s “Are You In Compliance?” webpage for details about current and future laws and regulations that apply to dental practices. Entries span all areas of dental practice, from employment practices to general business.

Every quarter, CDA publishes a Practice Health Check that focuses on a different topic related to the business side of dentistry. CDA members are invited to take CDA's newest Practice Health Check, which focuses on employment practices.
 

Employees miss work for myriad reasons, but what happens when an employee is a no-show and has not communicated with the employer about his or her absence? There are no telephone calls, emails or texts — the employee has made no contact of any kind with the employer. While this can be a frustrating situation, it is not a “free ticket” to terminating the employee.

Eligible employers as of July 1 can now register for CalSavers, the state’s new retirement savings program for private sector workers. Employers are eligible to participate in CalSavers — a Roth IRA (after tax) — if they have five or more employees and do not already offer an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Employers pay no fees for participating in CalSavers.

The Work Sharing program minimizes or eliminates the need for employers to lay off or furlough employees during periods when business demand is low. Under the program, employers can reduce hours and wages for individual employees, allowing those workers to receive partial unemployment benefits.

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.

Every employee’s employment life cycle ends eventually, whether due to resignation, retirement, termination or other reason. In the dental office, any employee who separates should do so in a structured and professional manner with minimum disruption to the patients, staff and practice. Still, depending on what triggers an employee’s departure, separation can be an awkward situation for employers to navigate. Such discomfort can be lessened if clear policies and practices are in place.

Sunstar Americas Inc. has expanded its voluntary nationwide recall on its prescription oral rinse. The FDA on Dec. 28, 2020, published an updated announcement expanding the expiration period from Dec. 31, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2022.

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.”

Dental assistant training programs are successfully placing graduates in California dental practices. One recent graduate, Liz Martinez, changed her career as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and is now employed by a dental practice in San Francisco.

Small businesses in California, including dental practices, with at least one employee who utilizes California’s Paid Family Leave program benefits on or after June 1, 2022, are eligible to apply online for grants up to $2,000 per employee on the leave.
 

A variety of situations can prompt patients who are not local to seek dental care while they are temporarily visiting or residing in your area. As the “secondary“ general dentist, you have more liability exposure than the dentist who is performing their routine dental care. Discover how to mitigate risk when you choose to treat these patients.

The four-part series explores the crucial stages of finding qualified candidates, successfully integrating new team members into the dental practice and retaining top talent.

With the holiday season’s arrival, Michelle Coker, employment practices analyst at CDA Practice Support, is taking calls from members who have questions about the laws governing holiday pay. She’s assembled tips to guide California dentists based on her conversations with callers.

CDA’s Practice Support and The Dentists Insurance Company have experienced and increase in calls from dental offices that are unsure of how or if they are required to notify patients after a dentist or staff member tests positive for COVID-19.

Several companies have vowed to improve diversity, equity and inclusion within their organizations over the last few months. These steps can help practice owners create a welcoming environment for employees of all backgrounds and keep staff engaged. 

Start your new year on the right foot by auditing your human resources systems and records. To diminish the possibility of legal issues and to ensure that your practice seeks to comply with labor and employment laws, it is important to perform an HR audit. An audit can include timekeeping and wage statements and all of the following.

Patient safety remains a top priority for practice owners and dental teams; however, the dental office can often be a fast-paced working environment with distractions that can impede best safety practices. To better prevent mishaps, the Joint Commission requires accredited dental practices to implement a timeout before all surgical procedures.

Dental staffing shortages may make it tempting to offer a position to the first person who turns in an application, but a measured approach to hiring is recommended. Time and planning invested in your practice’s hiring process will save you money, maintain consistency and reduce risks of bad hires.

With planned power shut-offs developing across California in attempt to avoid wildfires, employers are wondering how they are to compensate their nonexempt employees when businesses are unable to be open for work due to power failures. Employers generally are obligated to pay “reporting time pay” to hourly employees when these employees are required to report for work and aren’t provided at least half of their usual hours for the day.

CDA members have long been able to use the Sample Employee Manual template, available through CDA Practice Support, to build a customized employee manual. Now, they can also go online to generate one of the most essential HR tools for every practice — a manual that both informs employees about workplace rules and helps to protect dentists from potential lawsuits.

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.

Protections for nursing mothers in California were significantly expanded under a bill signed into law in October by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Senate Bill 142 clarifies employer obligations to provide breaks and safe, private locations that include specified accommodations. The bill increases penalties for noncompliance and requires that employers implement a written lactation accommodation policy beginning Jan. 1, 2020.

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. 

A new state law prohibits discrimination on the basis of hair textures or protective hairstyles that are historically associated with race. Senate Bill 188, also known as the CROWN Act, was signed in July by Gov. Gavin Newsom and will take effect Jan. 1, 2020. California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act was amended by the law to include in the definition of race “traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles.”