On May 6, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-62-20. The Order covers all California employees who worked at the direction of an employer between March 19 and July 5, 2020, at the employer’s jobsite.
During the above timeframe, if an employee contracts a COVID-19-related illness it will be presumed that the employee has done so at the job site and is thus eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
- To qualify for the presumption, all of the following conditions must be met:
- The employee must test positive for or be diagnosed with COVID-19 within 14 days after working at the jobsite at the employer’s direction.
- The day worked at the employer’s jobsite was on or after March 19, 2020.
- The employer’s jobsite is not the employee’s home or residence.
- If the employee is diagnosed with COVID-19, the diagnosis was done by a medical doctor and confirmed by a positive test for COVID-19 within 30 days of the date of the diagnosis.
The California Department of Industrial Relations has provided additional information on this subject at the following website: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/Covid-19/FAQs.html.