Governor Newsom announced last week that by February 1, 2022, health care workers and all employees in high-risk congregate settings, including those providing in-home care will be required to get their COVID-19 booster shot. In the interim, all health care staff that have not received their booster must test for COVID-19 twice weekly until they are up to date on their vaccines.

​Last month, the HCAOA California Chapter held a meeting focused on the state's vaccine mandate for home care workers and issues with the Guardian System. HCAOA compiled members’ questions and speakers Jennifer Nicklas, DSS Home Care Services Bureau Chief, and Atty. Elizabeth Murphy, JacksonLewis, agreed to provide answers as a follow up.

​HCAOA continues to fight against California’s AB 2455 law that requires all home care aides’ personal information, including their home addresses and phone numbers, to be turned over to SEIU to assist with union organizing. HCAOA initially filed the lawsuit in 2019 but the lower court upheld the law, so HCAOA filed an appeal from that decision. 

Among the many new California bills signed into law this session are two that amend the state’s workplace safety laws. Senate Bill (SB) 606 creates new classes of health and safety violations and dramatically increases liability for non-compliant written workplace safety and health programs. Assembly Bill (AB) 654 makes notable revisions to an employer’s COVID-19 exposure notification and reporting requirements.

​Last week, the California Department of Social Services issued a Provider Information Notice alerting home care organizations that all registered home care aides must be vaccinated against COVID by November 30. There are two exemptions to this rule: Declining vaccination based on religious beliefs or being excused from receiving the vaccine due to qualifying medical reasons.

Yesterday, the California Department of Social Services issued a Provider Information Notice alerting home care organizations that all registered home care aides must be vaccinated against COVID by November 30. However there are two exemptions to this rule: Declining vaccination based on religious beliefs or excused from receiving the vaccine due to qualifying medical reasons. 

Cal/OSHA issued much-awaited FAQs which provide clarity on whether employers must continue to exclude fully vaccinated employees from the workplace if they were exposed to a confirmed positive COVID-19 case (at work or otherwise). Prior to this guidance, fully vaccinated employees in California with exposure were still required to be excluded from the workplace under Cal/OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS), but not under CDC guidance. This conflict was challenging for many employers because it effectively resulted in the exclusion of workers whose risk of transmission was low according to CDC guidance in order to ensure compliance with the ETS. Such exclusion requirements had onerous implications with continuing supplemental paid leave obligations under SB 95, the FFCRA, and the ETS. read more