Instructions

AB 685, which became effective Jan. 1, 2021, added Section 6409.6 to the California Labor Code requires employers to notify employees of a potential worksite exposure to COVID-19 and to notify the local public health agency should an outbreak occur on the worksite. AB 2693, effective Jan. 1, 2023, amended the law to permit alternative notification to employees. It extends the notification requirement to Jan. 1, 2024.

Employee notification starting Jan. 1, 2023

Within one business day of being notified of potential exposure to COVID-19 at a work site, an employer must prominently display a notice in all places where notices to employees concerning workplace rules or regulations are customarily posted. The notice must remain posted for at least 15 days and be included on an employee portal if an employee portal exists. The notice, which should be in English and the language understood by the majority of employees, must state all of the following:

1. The dates on which an employee, or employee of a subcontracted employer, with a confirmed case of COVID-19 was on the worksite premises within the infectious period.
2. The location of the exposures, including the department, floor, building or another area, but the location need not be so specific as to allow individual workers to be identified.
3. Contact information for employees to receive information regarding COVID-19-related benefits to which the employee may be entitled under applicable federal, state, or local laws, including, but not limited to, workers’ compensation, and options for exposed employees, including COVID-19-related leave, company sick leave, state-mandated leave, supplemental sick leave, or negotiated leave provisions, as well as antiretaliation and antidiscrimination protections of the employee.
4. Contact information for employees to receive the cleaning and disinfection plan that the employer is implementing per CDC guidelines and the Cal-OSHA COVID-19 regulation.

As an alternative to the posted notice, an employer may provide written notice to all employees and the employers of subcontracted employees, who were on the premises at the same time as the confirmed case of COVID-19 within the infectious period (at a minimum of 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms to 14 days after last known close contact with the ill individual). Written notice should be provided in a manner the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information, including, but not limited to, personal service, email, or text message if it can reasonably be anticipated to be received by the employee within one business day of sending. It should be in both English and the language understood by most of the employees.

An employer must keep a log of all the dates the notice was posted and must make it available to state labor agency representatives upon request. In addition, an employer must provide within one business day written notice to the exclusive representative, if any, of employees confirmed to have COVID-19 or who had close contact. The notice should contain the same information as required in a Cal/OSHA Form 300 incident report: employee name, job title, date of illness, location and description of the illness.

Outbreak notification

As of Jan. 1, 2023, an employer is no longer required to report a COVID-19 outbreak to a local public health agency. Unless the agency requires it.