California’s COVID-19 Presumptions Could Mean Big Costs For Workers’ Comp

Browse any online news site or listen to a newscast and you’d be hard pressed not to find information about the effects the COVID-19 pandemic is having on how employees are doing their jobs.

From wearing masks and gloves to cordoning off their workspaces, today’s workforce is doing whatever it takes to get back to “business as usual” while keeping everyone safe.

Unfortunately, employees continue to contract the disease — both inside and outside their workplaces. So, what does this mean for workers’ compensation laws?

Well, according to California’s Governor, Gavin Newsome, and Executive Order N-62-20 he recently signed, any COVID-19-related illness of an employee shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of employment for purposes of awarding workers’ compensation benefits.

Specifically, the executive order says an employee can access workers’ compensation benefits so long as they test positive for COVID-19 within 14 days of performing “labor of services” at their place of work.