COVID-19

El 8 de Septiembre 2021, el Senado de California paso AB 701, un proyecto de ley dirigido hacia proporcionar limitaciones a las empresas que les imponen cuotas de velocidad a los trabajadores de almacén en centros de distribución de almacén. 

El proposito del proyecto de ley es asegurarse que los empleados no sean requeridos a cumplir las cuotas que previenen el cumplimiento de períodos de comida o descanso, uso de baños o leyes de salud y seguridad ocupacional.

Si se firma como ley, ¿qué protecciones se requerirán?

El proyecto de ley requiere que los empleadores proporcionen una descripción por escrito de cada cuota a la que están sujetos los empleados, incluida la cantidad cuantificada de proyectos que se realizarán o materiales que se producirán o manipularán, y cualquier acción laboral adversa potencial que pudiera resultar de no cumplir con la cuota dentro de 30 días después de la contratación o dentro de los 30 días posteriores a la entrada en vigencia de la ley.

El proyecto de ley proporciona transparencia entre la empresa y el empleado en cuanto a los niveles de productividad esperada de cada empleado. Tambien évitara que las empresas despidan a sus empleados por no cumplir con cuotas poco realisticas que forzan a los empleados a comprometer su salud y seguridad para cumplir con las demandas de las empresas.

Empleados Tienen El Derecho a Solicitar y Revisar Cuotas

Bajo AB 701, si un empleado actual o anterior cree que cumplir con una cuota causó una violación de su derecho a una comida o un período de descanso o requirió que violaran cualquier ley o norma de salud y seguridad ocupacional, el empleado tiene el derecho de solicitar, y el empleador es requerido a proporcionar, una descripción por escrito de cada cuota a la que el empleado esta sujeto, al igual que una copia de los últimos 90 días de los datos personales de velocidad de trabajo del empleado.

Adémas, hay una presunción refutable de represalia si un empleador de cualquier manera discrimina, toma represalias, o toma alguna acción adversa contra cualquier empleado dentro de los 90 días de la empleado: 

(a) Solicitar al empleador que proporcione información sobre una cuota o datos personales de velocidad de trabajo; o

(b) Presentar una queja relacionada con una cuota alegando cualquier violación de la ley, ante el empleador, el comisionado, la división o la agencia gubernamental local o estatal.

Honorarios de Abogados

En particular, el proyecto de ley prevé los honorarios de los abogados para aquellos que busquen acciones legales de conformidad con AB 701, que crea acceso a la justicia para los empleados afectados.

Publicación de datos por el Comisionado Laboral 

Para el 1 de enero de 2023, el Comisionado Laboral debe reportar:

(1) el número de reclamos presentados ante el comisionado bajo este proyecto de ley,

(2) datos sobre cuotas de producción de almacén en almacenes donde las tasas anuales de lesiones de los empleados están por encima del promedio de la industria, y

(3) el número de investigaciones y acciones de ejecución iniciadas.

Si se convierte en ley, la AB 701 expondrá las cuotas de trabajo inseguras establecidas por empresas como Amazon y dará poder a los empleados que dependen de estos trabajos para mantener a sus familias y hasta ahora no han tenido otra alternativa que priorizar el cumplimiento de las cuotas sobre su propia seguridad.

As of today, cities and states are reaching the peak of their curves, and Americans can finally see a semblance of light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel. But for many Americans, the end of that tunnel will mean the beginning of economic hardship. Although federal and state laws provide public benefits for “traditional” employees, many of these benefits are ordinarily non-existent or severely lacking for independent contractors and self-employed workers. Fortunately, the federal and state governments have taken significant measures to protect millions of Americans who would otherwise be left high and dry.

Unemployment Insurance Benefits

Self-employed, part-time, and gig workers comprise as much as one quarter of all workers in California. Thankfully, following the passage of the CARES Act last month, independent contractors and the self-employed who are affected by COVID-19 can now apply for unemployment benefits. To be eligible for benefits under the CARES Act, a non-traditional worker must meet one of the following criteria:

• You have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or experience COVID-19 symptoms and you’re seeking a medical diagnosis;
• You are unable to work because your doctor advised you to self-quarantine because of COVID-19;
• A member of your household is diagnosed with COVID-19;

• You are a caregiver for a family member or a member of your household who has been diagnosed with COVID-19;
• A child or other person in the household for whom you have primary caregiving responsibility cannot go to school or daycare because of COVID-19 and the school or daycare is required for you to work;
• You are now the sole breadwinner of the household because the head of the household died as a result of COVID-19;
• You quit because of COVID-19;
• Your job closed because of COVID-19;

• You were supposed to start working at a job that closed because of COVID-19;
• You cannot get ahold of your employer because of COVID-19; or
• If you work as an independent contractor with reportable income, and you are unemployed, partially employed, or unable or unavailable to work because COVID-19 severely limited your ability to continue performing your customary work activities and has thereby forced you to stop working.

As discussed in our previous blog entry, the CARES Act:

• Gives eligible workers 13 additional weeks of unemployment benefits. Because California ordinarily provides 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, Californians may now receive up to 39 weeks of benefits; and
• Provides unemployed workers an additional $600, on top of what they receive in unemployment compensation per week, through July 31, 2020.

The California Employment Development Department (“EDD”) is still developing a new program for self-employed workers and independent contractors. As such, the EDD is asking self-employed workers and independent contractors wait to apply until after the EDD establishes a separate program for these ordinarily ineligible workers. Nevertheless, the EDD recognizes all eligible workers have a right to file for unemployment benefits even though the State is still working out the kinks.

Information on how to file an unemployment claim can be found here: https://www.edd.ca.gov/unemployment/UI_Online_File_a_Claim.htm

Paid Sick Leave

Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), self-employed workers are entitled to paid sick leave in the form of a tax credit allowed against the worker’s self-employment tax. Importantly, “eligible self-employed individuals” under the FFCRA include individuals who “would be entitled to receive paid leave during the taxable year pursuant to the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act if the individual were an employee of an employer.”

In other words, this provision could also apply to some independent contractors who would have otherwise been entitled to sick leave. The credit allows workers to take up to 10 paid sick days, and sick leave wages are capped at $511 per day for their own use and up to $200 a day to care for others and any other substantially similar condition.

Further information about the FFCRA can be found in our previous blog entry.

If you think you need legal assistance from an employment law attorney to fight for your rights and fair compensation, reach out to the attorneys of Haeggquist & Eck, LLP for help!

We can be contacted online or by phone at (619) 342-8000.

Although an employer typically may not ask you about your disability or medical condition, employers may argue that it is appropriate during the COVID-19 pandemic if they can establish that COVID-19 is a “direct threat” making you more susceptible to an adverse impact.

Currently, federal and state regulatory authorities have released useful guidance for employers and employees to understand the impact of COVID-19 upon existing laws involving disability discrimination. One such resource, which we encourage you to consider, is the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (the “EEOC”) guidance issued in an online article entitled, “Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

The EEOC Guidance is directed to employers who are subject to the American with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”), which protects employees against disability discrimination. California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) is similar to the ADA in many respects, and California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (the “DFEH”) has also issued useful guidance.

As explained in the EEOC Guidance, generally during a pandemic that is akin to seasonal influenza or the 2009 H1N1 virus, it remains impermissible for your employer to ask you disability-related questions or to conduct a medical examination when you are asymptomatic. The EEOC has left open the question, however, whether COVID-19’s severity provides the ADA-covered employer with “sufficient objective information” to “reasonably conclude” that COVID-19 qualifies as a “direct threat” such that it may ask about other disabilities or medical conditions (non-COVID-19) that may make you more susceptible to adverse impact.

Employers May Try to Claim ‘Direct Threat

Indeed, COVID-19 being declared a “global pandemic” by the World Health Organization (“WHO”) means that some ADA-covered employers will undoubtedly seek to rely on the ADA’s “direct threat” exception that permits employers to make disability-related inquiries when the employee (whether due to the pandemic or another medical condition or disability) poses a “direct threat” such that there is a “significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual or others that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation.” See 29 C.F.R. §1630.2(r). According to the CDC, people who have serious underlying medical conditions may be at higher risk for more severe complications from COVID-19. As stated in the EEOC Guidance, COVID-19 itself will likely be held to meet the “direct threat” standard. Therefore, if you have COVID-19 symptoms, employers have been conducting screenings for COVID-19 and have somewhat more leeway in how they interact with employees concerning COVID-19 work conditions (the topic of other blog posts herein).

So while your employer (during the COVID-19 pandemic) may assert that it is permitted to take your temperature and ask about COVID-19 symptoms, it is unclear whether your employer may also ask you about non-COVID-19 medical conditions or disabilities that place you (or others) at greater risk for harm.

Whether your non-COVID-19 disability presents a “direct threat” will depend on:

• The duration of the risk
• The nature and severity of the potential harm
• The likelihood that the potential harm will occur
• The imminence of the potential harm.

The determination of the “direct threat” must be based on a reasonable medical judgment that relies on the most current medical knowledge and/or on the best available objective evidence. See 29 C.F.R. §1630.2(r). As noted in the EEOC Guidance, this means that the determination of a “direct threat” should not be based on “irrational fears” or “subjective perceptions.”

As stated in the EEOC Guidance, “[e]mployers should not assume that all disabilities increase the risk of influenza complications.” Examples offered in the EEOC Guidance of disabilities with a presumably lesser risk of complications are those impacting vision or mobility. Yet, careful thought illustrates how even more visually “hidden” disabilities should not be grounds for irrational fears of adverse risk. For example, it would be a subjective assumption that all persons with cancer may be immunocompromised in the same way. In practice, the immunocompromised status of a cancer patient often varies based on the type of cancer or the status of treatment.

Avoid Oversharing Sensitive Medical Information

Thus, while we believe it would be improper for employers to use COVID-19 as a pretext to inquire as to the disabilities or medical conditions of asymptomatic employees, employers will no doubt argue that there is a potential “gray area” with inquiries about disabilities or medical conditions that the WHO, the Centers for Disease Control (the “CDC”) or other health authorities have determined place you at heightened risk for severe complications from COVID-19.

Ultimately, even in light of the EEOC’s suggestion on this issue, the answer to this question is not “one size fits all” and will depend on individual facts and circumstances. We would caution against oversharing sensitive medical information, particularly when other options exist for employees, notably those in “non-essential” positions, to either work remotely or take leave (please see other blog posts on these topics).

Are You an Employee Concerned about an Employment Law Violation?

The attorneys of Haeggquist & Eck, LLP are relentless advocates for workers who endure mistreatment by their employers. Our attorneys have decades of combined experience helping people seek fair and just compensation when they’ve been taken advantage of at work.

Begin fighting for what you deserve by contacting Haeggquist & Eck, LLP online or calling (619) 342-8000 to arrange a free case evaluation.