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Amendments to California's Fair Employment and Housing Act regulations, which generally apply to employers of five or more employees, require employers to develop and distribute antidiscrimination, anti-harassment and complaint investigation policies. CDA has developed sample policy language and a sample employee manual template for dental practices.

Dental practices must post the revised Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) Minimum Wage Poster, no smaller than 11 inches by 17 inches, as well as the revised Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) Poster.

EPA’s newest rule requires healthcare facilities and other businesses that generate pharmaceutical hazardous waste to properly dispose of the waste. The first part of the rule, the prohibition on “sewering” hazardous pharmaceutical waste, is effective August 21. All nonhazardous pharmaceutical waste that are not controlled substances must be disposed as regulated medical waste. See Dental Office Waste Management Options.

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) began accepting applications today for a small business hiring credit against California state income taxes or sales and use taxes. Qualified business employers who employed 100 or fewer employees as of December 31, 2019; and suffered a 50% decrease or more in income tax gross receipts when comparing second quarter 2020 to second quarter 2019, may apply between Dec. 1, 2020 through Jan. 15, 2021 to receive a credit of $1,000 for each net increase in qualified employees from April 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020. The credit reservations will be allocated to qualified small business employers on a first-come, first-served basis.

Employers should be prepared with all the required information to start their online application. Visit www.cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/SB1447-tax-credit.htm for details.

On Jan. 11, 2018, the IRS issued revised tax withholding tables for employee paychecks. To comply with IRS Notice 1036, employers should implement the 2018 withholding tables as soon as possible, but no later than Feb. 15, 2018. The notice provides early release copies of the new percentage method tables for income tax withholding. To learn more about your tax responsibilities as an employer, refer to Publication 15 and recent developments at irs.gov.

Dental practices must post California's Whistleblower Protection notice, printed no smaller than 8.5 inches by 14 inches, as well as Notice to Employees – Injuries Caused by Work, in both English and Spanish if dentists have Spanish-speaking employees.

The minimum wage for a large employer with 26 or more employees in California will increase from $10 per hour to $10.50 per hour, and employers with 25 or fewer employees will remain at $10.00 until Jan. 1, 2018. Some cities and counties have their own ordinances beyond what is required by state law, with more expected to follow. CDA provides a guide to minimum wage ordinances by city and county and employers are advised to check with their local jurisdictions to ensure they are in compliance.

Employers with 10 or more employees must register with the Employment Development Department's e-Services for Business and file all wage reports and employment tax returns and pay all contributions for unemployment insurance premiums electronically. All employers will be required to register and file under this new law beginning Jan. 1, 2018.

CDT 2017 is the newest version of the American Dental Association’s code on dental procedures and nomenclature. Dentists must now use the new dental codes. There are 11 new procedure codes, 5 code revisions and 1 code deletion.

Written informed consent forms for the sedation/anesthesia of a minor patient must now include specific language. CDA has updated the forms to reflect the change. The language is as follows: “The administration and monitoring of general anesthesia may vary depending on the type of procedure, the type of practitioner, the age and health of the patient, and the setting in which anesthesia is provided. Risks may vary with each specific situation. You are encouraged to explore all the options available for your child’s anesthesia for his or her dental treatment, and consult with your dentist or pediatrician as needed.”

Practice owners who are hiring or planning to hire new employees must use the new Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9. As of Jan. 21, 2017, all previous versions of the form will become invalid. The new form is designed to be easier to use. It clarifies several points of confusion for employers, and includes embedded instructions for completing fields. The new form can be accessed via the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.

The new law amends the Labor Code to specify that an employer may now ask for an applicant’s salary expectations for the position being applied for, only external applicants (not current employees) and are entitled to request a pay scale for the position they are applying for, but only after completing an initial interview. The pay scale provided only needs to include salary and hourly wage ranges. AB 2282

Dentists who order or provide Medicare-covered items and services (clinical laboratory services, imaging services or durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies) will need to either enroll in Medicare using form CMS-855-I (PDF) or the shorter enrollment form CMS-855-O (PDF) or formally opt out of Medicare by Jan. 1, 2019. To assure one's status with Medicare and that patients' Medicare benefits do not lapse, dentists should allow sufficient time for processing whichever form is submitted. Learn more about enrollment requirements by visiting the ADA’s Facts and FAQ on Medicare.

The minimum wage for a large employer with 26 or more employees in California will increase from $11 per hour to $12 per hour, and employers with 25 or fewer employees will increase from $10.50 per hour to $11 per hour on Jan. 1, 2019. Some cities and counties have their own ordinances beyond what is required by state law, with more expected to follow. CDA provides a guide to minimum wage ordinances by city and county and employers are advised to check with their local jurisdictions to ensure they are in compliance.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, a prescriber is required to discuss the following with a minor or the minor’s parent or guardian before issuing the first opioid prescription in a single course of treatment:

1. The risks of addiction and overdose associated with the use of opioids.
2. The increased risk of addiction to an opioid to an individual suffering from both mental and substance-abuse disorders.
3. The danger of taking an opioid with benzodiazepine, alcohol or another central nervous system depressant.

A new informed consent form, Consent to Prescribe Opioid to a Minor, (Spanish version) has been developed and is available on the TDIC and CDA Practice Support websites.

When performing procedures on exposed dental pulp, water or other methods used for irrigation must be “sterile or contain recognized disinfecting or antibacterial properties.”

As of Jan. 1, 2019, a prescriber must offer a patient a prescription for naloxone hydrochloride or other FDA-approved drugs for the complete or partial reversal of opioid depression when one or more of the following conditions are present:

1. The prescription dosage for the patient is 90 or more morphine milligrams equivalent of an opioid medication per day. (See this CDC document on how to calculate MME.)
2. Opioid medication is prescribed concurrently with a prescription for benzodiazepine.
3. The patient presents with an increased risk for overdose, including a patient with a history of overdose, a patient with a history of substance use disorder or a patient at risk for returning to a high dose of opioid medication to which the patient is no longer tolerant.

Additionally, a prescriber must provide education to a patient, or the patient’s guardian if the patient is a minor, receiving a prescription per the above circumstance on overdose prevention and the use of naloxone hydrochloride or other FDA-approved drugs for the complete or partial reversal of opioid depression. AB 2760

See the IRS’s press release. For business expense reimbursement, the 2019 rate is $0.58 per mile. That’s up $0.035 from last year. California employers need to reimburse such common expenses as work-related travel, dining expenses and mileage when an employee uses a personal car for work-related business. However, employees who can prove they spend more than $0.58 per mile to operate their personal vehicles for business use may be entitled to reimbursement of the actual expense. It’s up to the employees to prove their expenses, however.

Section 1031 of the Labor Code has now been updated to specify that employers should provide a location other than a bathroom. Employers must make reasonable efforts to provide the employee the use of a room, other than a bathroom, in close proximity to the employees work area to express milk in private. Employers should update their employee policy to reflect the new
lactation accommodation requirements. Sample Employee Manual (Doc)

SB 1109  requires a warning notice be prominently displayed on the label or container of an opioid dispensed to a patient for outpatient use. The notice must state: "Caution. Opioid. Risk of overdose and addiction." The law requires the notice be displayed "by means of a flag or other notification mechanism attached to the container."

The minimum wage for a large employer with 26 or more employees in California will increase from $12 per hour to $13 per hour, and employers with 25 or fewer employees will increase from $11 per hour to $12 per hour on Jan. 1, 2020. Some cities and counties have their own ordinances beyond what is required by state law, with more expected to follow. CDA provides a guide to minimum wage ordinances by city and county and employers are advised to check with their local jurisdictions to ensure they are in compliance.

A dental practice that administers general anesthesia or deep or moderate sedation must use a written informed consent form that includes language specified in AB 1622 which the governor signed October 2019. Check out CDA's news article for more information, and access updated informed consent forms from the Practice Support Resource Library.

All employers must provide a private lactation location other than a bathroom, near the employee's work area. This new law requires the location to have certain mandatory features, requires employers to have a written lactation accommodation policy, changes the ability to claim an exemption, and expands the available penalties.

As of Jan. 31, 2020, employers should begin using the Form I-9. The new version is dated 10/21/2019 but will not become mandatory until May 1. 

All employers in California are required to provide their employees a minimum of three paid sick days per year. Calculated at one hour for every 30 hours worked, sick pay can be accrued over time or given as a lump sum. CDA offers numerous resources on navigating sick law, including a breakdown of sick leave ordinances by city and county.

Dentists contracted with dental plans must respond to a plan's request for accurate directory information within 30 days or face payment delays, reimbursement reductions or, ultimately, termination of their participating provider agreement. Dental practices are required to provide timely practice updates, including practice address, license number, and other information.