Laws & Regulations

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.

Soon, all California employers with at least one employee and no employer-sponsored retirement plan will be required to facilitate CalSavers enrollment for their workers, including new hires within 30 days of hiring. 

Most employees in California, including dental professionals, will gain legal protections from retaliatory actions by employers during emergency situations when a state law takes effect Jan. 1, 2023.

A new state law will increase wage transparency for California job applicants and current employees beginning Jan. 1, 2023, with resulting new job-posting, pay scale disclosure and records-maintenance requirements for covered employers. 

Amendments to the California Family Rights Act and Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act expand employees’ leave rights and take effect Jan. 1, 2023. The changes require covered employers to provide protected bereavement leave and allow employees to take time off to care for a "designated person." 

California law will soon bar most employers from penalizing or discriminating against applicants or workers who use cannabis off the clock and away from the workplace. Employers should update their drug test policies before law takes effect.

The California Department of Public Health on Sept. 17 ended the COVID-19 testing mandate for unvaccinated health care workers and other individuals in high-risk settings, which include dental offices.

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.

Dental practice owners and other employers who have 5 to 50 employees and do not have a retirement plan in place will be required by state law to enroll their employees in CalSavers no later than June 30, 2022.

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.

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.