On November 6, 2018, California voters passed a proposition (Proposition 11) creating the Emergency Ambulance Employee Safety and Preparedness Act (located at Cal. Labor Code §§ 880 – 890). According to the proposition analysis, private ambulance companies may now continue their current practice of having emergency medical technicians and paramedics stay on-duty during their meal and rest breaks in order to respond to 911 calls. Private ambulance companies would attempt to reschedule meal and rest breaks that are interrupted by a 911 call.
Under the specifics of the act, all emergency ambulance employees are entitled to meal and rest periods as prescribed by the California Industrial Welfare Commission and must be compensated at their regular hourly rate of pay during those periods. Additionally, an emergency ambulance provider:
Any meal period that does not comply with these requirements will not be counted towards the meal periods an employee is entitled to during his or her work shift.
The act also requires private ambulance companies to provide emergency workers with the following annual training free of charge and with compensation during the period of required training:
Lastly, every emergency ambulance employee:
The law was added to the California Labor Code on November 6, 2018.
Read the act
On October 18, 2018, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) issued an amended notice of proposed emergency action to amend Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, §§ 14300.35 and 14300.41 and thus conform California’s recordkeeping requirements to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) program. On November 1, 2018, the California Office of Administrative Law approved the emergency action. Subsequently, the following California employers are now required to submit Form 300A data covering calendar year 2017 by December 31, 2018:
Covered employers should follow the instructions posted at federal OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application website.
See the Cal/OSHA website
On September 27, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation (S.B. 1123) amending the California Family Temporary Disability Insurance Program to establish a program that will provide up to six weeks of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work to:
However, the law does not abridge the rights and responsibilities conveyed under the California Family Rights Act or pregnancy disability leave.
The law also specifies:
The law is effective January 1, 2019; however, it does not become operative until January 1, 2021.
Read CA S.B. 1123 and the law as amended