With the current increase in COVID-19 cases around California, employers need to stay appraised of the associated litigation trends in the state. We first wrote about the initial COVID-19 litigation here. The cases we are currently seeing filed in the courts directly resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic include traditional employee vs. employer cases (both individual and class actions) and related Covid-19 claims.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, there has been close to 800 cases directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic filed throughout California counties. Most commonly, we are seeing cases in the areas of Employment Discrimination, Wrongful Termination, Retaliation/Whistleblower, Wage and Hour, and Unsafe Workplaces. Many of these cases are within Healthcare, Retail, and Construction industries with a majority against small sized employers (1-50 employees) to medium sized employers (101-500 employees).
Accordingly, it is imperative for employers to create and implement a written COVID-19 policy for their business, as required by Cal-OSHA, especially in light of the constant changes in required guidelines from the CDC, the State of California and your local county regulations. To further minimize risk, employers should also make sure they are taking employee complaints about unsafe workplace conditions seriously and address them properly and in compliance with your employment policies.
Employers, if you would like more information on how to create a compliant COVID-19 policy for your workplace, learn how to address COVID-19 complaints in the workplace, or are concerned about how to stay California compliant to minimize your risk against lawsuits, please contact the Employer Lawyers at Chauvel & Glatt, LLP.
This material in this article, provided by Chauvel & Glatt, is designed to provide informative and current information as of the date of the post. It should not be considered, nor is it intended to constitute legal advice. For information on your particular circumstances, please contact Chauvel & Glatt at 650-573-9500. Chauvel & Glatt is located on the Peninsula in San Mateo, CA and serves the Bay Area counties and businesses throughout California. (photo credit: 123rf.com).
