Health Laws Targeting California Businesses Take Effect This Year
Several health-related laws targeting California businesses will go into effect this year, the Orange County Register reports.
Paid Sick Leave Law
Under one new law (AB 11), California companies beginning July 1 will be required to provide a minimum of three paid sick days annually to workers.
The law affects both part-time and full-time employees, but about 360,000 in-home caregivers who are paid with government funds will be excluded.
Under the law, employees who work at least 30 days per year can accrue paid sick leave at a rate of one hour per 30 hours of work. Employers can choose to cap the amount of paid leave at 24 hours per year. In addition, employees must have worked at the company for at least 90 days to qualify.
Medi-Cal Reporting Law
Another state law (AB 1792) will require the Department of Finance to issue a report on the 500 companies with the largest number of employees who are covered by Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program. The publicly available report will detail the cost to the government of each beneficiary.
Data for the report will be taken from existing state records. The first report will be released in January 2016.
Additional Laws
Other new health-related measures affecting California businesses include:
- New Affordable Care Act provisions that require companies with at least 100 workers to offer health insurance to 70% of employees who work at least 30 hours per week;
- A law (AB 1523) requiring assisted living facilities to purchase liability insurance; and
- A law requiring upholstered furniture to include a label indicating whether it contains flame-retardant chemicals that have been linked to cancer or other illnesses (Roosevelt, Orange County Register, 1/8).