CALA News & Views | Issue 49 | Top 5

Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs) and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) must follow requirements in the Health and Safety Code and in Title 22, but as employers, businesses and medical waste generators, etc. they must also maintain compliance with other laws and regulations that may be less familiar. CALA turned to members with expertise in employment law, Cal/OSHA requirements, hazardous waste requirements and infection control to provide their top tips to help members comply with these additional requirements.

Employment Laws and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) This section contributed by Diane Marie O’Malley, Hanson Bridgett LLP

Best practices for preventing or defending PAGA claims are to work closely with your human resources and legal counsel to shore up your wage-and-hour policies and make sure your practices reflect those policies. Some of the more frequent allegations seen in these claims include the following areas:

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Rest and Meal Periods: Make sure that employees are getting rest and meal periods, documenting any statutorily permitted exceptions. Regular Rate of Pay: Make sure you are paying overtime, meal and rest break premiums and sick pay the regular rate of pay, when required. That means checking to assure you are including all non-discretionary income (such as bonuses, shift differential, etc.) earned in a workweek in your calculation of those payments. Reimbursements for Business Related Expenses: Review if employees are using personal devices to communicate about work (such as communicating with supervisors); and, are there policies inappropriately requiring employees to pay for business-related expense such as replacing lost name tags or company-issued uniforms. 2 3

Paycheck Stubs/Wage Statements : Provide itemized wage statements and ensure the statements accurately portray all applicable Labor Code Section 226(a) items. For example, wage statements should depict the correct legal entity name and address of the employer. Remember to review if the wage statement reflects paid sick leave balances. Correct Employee Classification: Regularly audit job duties to determine if your employees classified as “exempt” are, in fact, exempt.

Working Off-the-Clock: Audit to determine if you have any employees engaged in employer directed activities before or after they clock in to work that would be considered “off-the clock” work, such as regularly responding to work related messages after hours, checking for changes in their schedules, preparing or completing paperwork before they clock in or after they clock out; “checking the workspace,” “locking up and securing the premises” after clocking out.

PRACTICE: BONUS BEST

Cal/OSHA

CALA NEWS & VIEWS I ISSUE 49 | MARCH 2024

This section contributed by Scott Bertulis, Marsh Senior Living & LTC Industry Practice, US and Canada Cal/OSHA is a division within California’s Department of Industrial Relations dedicated to protection and improvement of employee health and safety. Here are the top five Cal/OSHA compliance tips, and a bonus tip.

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Maintain a comprehensive Injury and Illness Prevention Plan and make sure you update it annually. See a model IIPP plan on the Cal/OSHA website at https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/dosh_ publications/IIPP-Model-high-hazard.doc.

Maintain compliance with the most frequently cited Cal/OSHA standards as follows: Injury and Illness Recordkeeping, Bloodborne Pathogens, Chemical Hazard Communication, COVID-19 Standard and Respiratory Protection.

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