All over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected every workplace. This change has not left behind the United States and, in particular, California. Unfortunately, many employers have, under the pretext of the pandemic, taken certain steps that infringe the rights of employees. To prevent this, the government has responded by enacting relevant labor-friendly laws that protect employees’ rights at the local, state, and federal levels respectively. Yet, while some employers respect these rights, others may violate them.
Whichever way it is, as an employee, the protection of your rights is extremely important. To make sure you are treated fairly, you need to know your rights, so if they are infringed, you can look for legal counsel immediately. To try and make this easier, we have prepared a summary outline of the supplementary rights that are open to you due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 Work-from-Home Rights Protection
The COVID-19 layoffs and terminations and stay-at-home orders have seen many organizations instructing their staff to work from home when possible. With this necessary development, several work-related rights have arisen calling for protection. The following are the rights related to working from home while the pandemic lasts:
- In case you are not sick of the infection or you do not care for a child due to the infection-related childcare concerns, you may not enjoy these protections if you remain at home from work. There happens to be no such right to work remotely while the pandemic continues.
- Your employer possesses the right to determine your employment terms. They may compel you to work from home even if you do not choose to. More so, your employer may also restrict business travels during the pandemic.
- In the case your employer compels you to work from home due to the pandemic, your employee is obliged to pay you for the work you do – hourly or fixed.
- Moreover, Cal/OSHA expects employers to reimburse their employees for the monetary cost of computers, internet access, work cellphones, and a couple of other expenses necessary to organize a home office where you are instructed to work from home.
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
One of the front-row federal laws that enables you to seek and obtain an emergency sick leave when you are with a company with less than 500 staff is the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The Act permits you to obtain eighty (80) hours of paid sick leave in any of the situations here below:
- You are serving a quarantine order yourself or you are taking care of someone who must isolate themselves after being infected by COVID-19 in both cases.
- A healthcare practitioner has counseled you or anyone under your care to self-isolate
- The daycare, school, or childcare facility you use is inaccessible owing to COVID-19, so you need to care for your child(ren).
- Because you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, you are looking for medical treatment or diagnosis.
As it were, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) still offers workplace personnel twelve (12) weeks of UNPAID leave every 12 months if they or a close family member requires care for a critical health condition. COVID-19 qualifies as one of these critical health conditions.
COVID-19 Layoffs and Terminations
Coronavirus has seen organizations not only terminate but also dismiss employees on a large scale. But there’s still some good news for you as an employee, courtesy of certain relevant legislations, providing protection from undue layoffs and unlawful terminations while the COVID-19 pandemic lasts. Here are a couple of the rights and protections that could apply to you:
The provisions of the FFCRA protects you from unlawful termination due to being infected by COVID-19. However, time limits do apply to the enjoyment of such a protection. Interestingly, the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) also offers similar protection. If the virus makes an underlying health disorder burst out, the disorder may be regarded as a disability that deserves some protection.
There’s also the Federal Worker Adjustment and Notification (WARN) Act that expects employers to make a 60-day Notice where they want to lay people off en masse or are looking forward to business closure. Although a similar law applies in California, the Governor suspended the 60-day Notice benchmark to permit businesses to act swiftly to stop or prevent the spreading of the virus.
Besides, if your employer instructs you to go home or tells you to not work owing to Government directives or they are worried about your security, California legislation exempts them from paying in such circumstances. However, you may still qualify for a paid sick leave under the FFCRA. Even still, if you get affected by the COVID-19 infection, and your employer fired you, you can get in touch with a lawyer as soon as practicable.
To be more specific, our team at JLG Lawyers can help you with a free confidential case assessment to find out if your employer encroached upon your rights or not. And where applicable, you must check in with an employment attorney before you sign a severance agreement.
SOME OF THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)
- I was fired; forced to take unpaid leave, or had my work hours cut owing to the pandemic?
If you were dismissed or had your work hours reduced owing to COVID-19, you can put up a claim for Unemployment Insurance benefits with the California Employment Development Department. To do that, you can seek help from dedicated Covid-19 lawyers in California. These benefits may spread from $40 to $450 each week from between thirteen (13) to twenty-six (26) weeks. And, in case you have exhausted your unemployment insurance, or you become ineligible for unemployment, (perhaps because you became an independent contractor), you may become entitled to Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
- What rights apply to me if I sense my workplace is unsafe?
As far as the California Occupational Safety and Health Act (Cal/OSHA) is concerned, employers are obliged to offer a secure working environment. So, if an employee reasonably believes that going to work may bring about life-threatening danger, yet the employer hesitates or refuses to meet the safety need, the employee may refuse to go to work. However, always bear in mind that you can only refuse to work on the conditions that (i) you don’t have sufficient time to lodge a complaint of the safety concerns to the authorities; and (ii) there are no reasonable substitutes to finish the work without protection hazards.
- What rights apply to me if my employer instructs me to work from home?
As for an employee working in California, your employer is obliged to compensate you for all your reasonable and necessary home office expenditure. This includes expenses related to your home internet access plan, fax machine, PC, teleconferencing kit, and software. Notably, your employer may develop a plan for compensating you for a sensible part of your phone and internet bills and other gear needed for your home office needs. Whichever way, you need to settle any expenses with your employer before you go on to purchase new software and equipment.
You can learn more about your rights during the pandemic on the official CA government page or you can book a Free Strategy Session today to speak with one of JLG Lawyers’ labor and employment experts, who can help you determine if you have been wrongfully terminated and your rights have been breached.