The COVID-19 pandemic is a scary and uncertain time for all, but particularly for employees who are grappling with illness, layoffs/reduced hours, school closures, or unsafe working conditions. Answers to commonly asked questions regarding the COVID-19 health crisis are below. If you believe your employer may be violating (or has violated) the law, our attorneys are here to listen to your experiences and explain your options.

Our attorneys and staff are working remotely and available to assist. You can contact our attorneys here.

1. What are my rights if I am sick with COVID-19?

You can take any paid sick days you have accrued. Most employees in California are entitled to at least three days of paid sick leave, and several California cities (including San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, Los Angeles and San Diego) have local laws that mandate additional paid sick time.

Whether or not you have accrued sick leave, a new federal law—the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)—allows most employees who work for employers with less than 500 employees to take up to two weeks of emergency paid sick leave. An employee may take emergency sick leave under the FFCRA because of any of the following:

• A federal, state or local quarantine order related to COVID-19;
• Advice from a healthcare provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;
• Having symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking medical diagnosis;
• Caring for an individual subject to a quarantine order or advice to quarantine;
• Caring for a child whose school or child-care provider has closed due to COVID-19; or
• Other conditions that the Federal government may specify later.

Paid sick leave benefits under the FFCRA cannot exceed $511/day or $5,110 total. If employers already have other sick leave policies in place, an employer must provide the FFCRA sick leave on top of, or in addition to, the existing leave. 

If you are not eligible for a paid sick leave under the FFCRA (for instance, because your employer has more than 500 employees), you may be still be eligible for an unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act or California Family Rights Act. Certain employees who work for employers with at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite, and who have a serious health condition, are eligible for up to twelve weeks of unpaid job-protected leave under the California Family Rights Act or Family Medical Leave Act. To qualify, you must have worked for your employer for at least one year and have worked 1,250 hours in the last calendar year.

If you have run out of paid sick leave and are still unable to work due to medical quarantine or illness related to COVID-19 (certified by a medical professional), you may be eligible for State Disability Insurance. Information about how to file a claim can be found here. Benefit amounts are approximately 60-70 percent of wages and range from $50 to $1,300 per week. You can use the Disability Insurance Calculator to help estimate your potential benefit amount.

2. What are my rights if I need to care for a family member who is sick with COVID-19?

If  you have to miss work to care for a seriously ill family member, you may be eligible to receive Paid Family Leave. A qualifying family member includes any child, parent, parent-in-law, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, grandparent or grandchild. Paid Family Leave typically provides 60% to 70% of your pay for up to six weeks. Information about how to file a claim for Paid Family Leave is available here. You will need a healthcare provider to certify your family member’s health condition.

If you work for an employer who employs less than 500 people, under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), you are also entitled to two weeks of paid sick leave at your regular rate of pay (up to certain limits) to care for an individual who is subject to a quarantine order or who has been advised by a medical professional to quarantine. In addition, as is described in more detail in Question No. 3 (below), most employees whose companies are covered under the FFCRA are entitled to an additional ten weeks of leave at two-thirds their regular rate of pay (up to certain limits) if they are unable to work due to childcare needs related to coronavirus. Under certain circumstances, small businesses of under 50 employees may be exempt from these requirements.

If you are not eligible for a paid leave under the FFCRA (for instance, because your employer employs more than 500 people), and your family member has a serious health condition, you may be entitled to take job-protected leave under the California Family Rights Act or Family Medical Leave Act. For more information about the eligibility requirements under these laws, see Question No. 1, above.

3. What are my rights if I need to stay home to care for my children due to a loss of childcare or school closures?

Under the current California state-wide shelter in place order, many people do not have ready access to childcare services unless they are working in essential sectors. 

If you need to miss work to care for your child due to coronavirus-related closures, you may be eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits. Eligibility considerations include if you have no other care options and if you are unable to continue working your normal hours remotely. Information about how to apply for Unemployment Insurance benefits is available here.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”)—which applies to employers with less than 500 employees—permits employees to take two weeks of emergency sick leave to care for a child whose school has closed or whose childcare is unavailable due to coronavirus. In addition, employees may be entitled to an additional ten weeks of leave at two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of pay (up to a maximum of $200 per day or $10,000 total) if the employee is unable to work because of childcare needs related to coronavirus. Both types of leave may be taken intermittently in any increment if your employer allows it – for example, your employer can agree to a recurring leave of several hours a day for qualifying childcare. Under certain circumstances, small businesses of under 50 employees may be exempt from these requirements.

Under California Labor Code § 230.8, employers with 25 or more employees working at the same location must allow employees to take up to 40 hours of leave per year for childcare, school closures or other school or care-related emergencies. Employees are required to use any existing vacation or personal days during this leave. If none are available, a leave under California Labor Code § 230.8 is unpaid.

You may be working from home while juggling taking care of children. As an employee, you are not protected from performance criticisms or work assignments merely because you have childcare responsibilities. Some, but perhaps not all, employers have implemented formal and informal policies to allow for the fact that people are doing their best to work from home under difficult conditions. If you feel that you have been discriminated against on the basis of a protected class under California’s civil rights laws, including on the basis of gender (including sex, or sex stereotyping), physical or mental disability, or medical condition, contact our attorneys here.  Additional categories protected under California law include:  race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status. See California Government Code § 12940(a).  More information on discrimination and protected classes is available here. 

4. What if I have been laid off/fired, forced to take an unpaid leave, or had my hours cut due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

If you were laid off or had your work hours reduced due to COVID-19, you can file a claim for Unemployment Insurance benefits with the California Employment Development Department (“EDD”). Information about how to apply for Unemployment Insurance benefits is available here. Your benefits can range from $40 to $450 per week, for 13 to 26 weeks. Use the Unemployment Insurance Calculator to help estimate your potential weekly benefit amount.

If you have exhausted your unemployment insurance, or are ineligible for unemployment (e.g., because you are an independent contractor), you may be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance. More information about Disaster Unemployment Assistance is available here. In addition, the newly-enacted CARES Act expands unemployment benefits for gig workers, freelancers, and independent contractors. Because this law is new, it is not yet clear how eligibility will be determined. The Department of Labor has indicated it will publish guidelines for the states on how to expand unemployment benefits for these individuals.

5. What are my rights if I feel my work environment is unsafe?

Under the California Occupational Safety & Health Act (Cal/OSHA), employers are required to provide a safe working environment. If an employee has a reasonable belief that going to work will lead to imminent danger to their life, and the employer refuses to fix the safety concern, the employee can refuse to go to work. However, the worker can only refuse to work if (1) there is not enough time to report the safety issues to the authorities, and (2) there are not any reasonable alternatives to complete the work without safety risks. If these requirements are met, the employer cannot fire or otherwise retaliate against the employee for refusing to work. It is currently unknown whether COVID-19 meets the definition of “imminent danger.”

Similarly, California Labor Code § 6311 states that an employee may not be fired or retaliated against if they refuse to perform work that violates “any occupational safety or health standard” if the violation would create “a real and apparent hazard.” It is currently unknown whether COVID-19 meets the definition of “a real and apparent hazard.”

If you feel your workplace is at high risk for coronavirus, or your employer is not taking sufficient precautions to protect employees from COVID-19, you can file a confidential safety and health complaint and request a Cal/OSHA inspection. More information about how to file a complaint with Cal/OSHA is available here.

If your work can be completed remotely, ask if you can work from home. There is no federal or California law that gives employees the right to work from home, but your employer may permit it during the current health crisis.

If you have a disability that makes you more vulnerable to COVID-19, you may be able to seek accommodations such as telecommuting that can help to keep you safe from contracting the virus. For more information about coronavirus-related accommodations for disabled employees, see Question No. 11, below.

Finally, if you feel you are in imminent danger, or your employer has violated a safety/health standard and created a real and apparent hazard, you can refuse to report to work – but you risk losing your job if the requirements detailed above are not met.

6. I feel that I am covered by the California “shelter in place” order, but my employer is still insisting that I come into work. What can I do?

The State of California recently announced a “shelter in place” order but identified 16 critical infastructure sectors that will continue to operate during the crisis. A list of the 16 essential industries can be found here. If you do not work in one of these 16 essential industries, your employer should not be requiring you to come into work during the “shelter in place” period. To report a suspected violation, contact your county’s district attorney or dial 3-1-1 (the non-emergency complaint line in many cities).

7. Can my employer ask me to stay home or leave work if I exhibit symptoms of COVID-19. 

Yes. Your employer can ask whether you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. Your employer can also take your temperature for the limited purpose of evaluating whether you pose a risk to others in the workplace as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have symptoms associated with COVID-19 (including a fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath), your employer can ask to stay home from or to leave work.

If you have been asked to stay home from or leave work due to illness, you may be eligible for the sick leave and other benefits described in Question No. 1, above.

8. What rights do I have if I am required to work from home?

Reimbursement of Business Expenses

If you are an employee working in California and your employer is requiring you to work from home, your employer must reimburse you for your reasonable and necessary home office expenses. This can include a portion of your expenses associated with your phone (cell phone or landline), home internet plan, personal computer, fax machine, and teleconferencing equipment and software. 

These reimbursable expenses may not include home office expenses which are for your convenience, such as higher speed internet or computer monitors. Depending on the nature of your work, you may or may not be able to seek reimbursement for printers, ink, and paper costs. 

Your employer may have a procedure for reimbursing you for a reasonable portion of your personal cell phone and internet bills, as well as other equipment or hardware necessary for you to work at home. You should clear any expenses with your employer before you purchase new equipment or software.    

Additionally, you must be sure to follow your employer’s data security procedures, which may relate to things like using the employer’s VPN, saving documents to secure locations, and/or password-protecting files. If you have any questions about this, you should ask your employer for their policies. 

If you work outside of California (even if you work for a California-based employer), the laws that apply to you may be different. Some other states also require employers to reimburse reasonable business expenses. You should consult an attorney if you have questions.  Additionally, under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), you cannot be required to outlay business expenses if doing so would reduce your earnings below minimum wage (currently set at $7.25 per hour). Accordingly, if paying for business expenses that are necessary for you to work from home would put you below minimum wage, your employer is required to reimburse you to bring you back up to minimum wage.    

Wage and Hour Laws Still Apply

If you are an hourly, non-exempt employee, the laws regarding wage and hour and meal and rest breaks still apply. You are entitled to compensation for every hour worked and, where applicable, overtime pay. You are also entitled to meal and rest breaks in accordance with California law. You and your employer should be keeping track of your timesheets and hours worked, even though you are not on site.    

9. Can my employer prohibit me from traveling?

No, your employer cannot prohibit you from traveling for personal reasons on your personal time. Your employer can request that you inform it if you are planning to or have traveled to areas or countries considered by health authorities to be high-risk for exposure to COVID-19. 

Your employer may also prevent you from working at the office for reasons of health and safety, including if you have recently traveled to a high-risk area. 

10. What are my rights if I am being discriminated against at work because of my race, ethnicity or national origin?

Both state and federal law prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin. This includes the perception, even if incorrect, that you are of a particular group. Troubling reports of discrimination against individuals due to their affiliation or perceived affiliation with the area of origin of the COVID-19 virus are on the rise.      

Discrimination at work can come in many forms. Negative employment actions can include being fired, demoted, denied promotion or advancement, failure to hire, being forced to quit, being denied equal compensation, reduction in hours, and other unfair or unequal treatment.  Such employment actions, if based on an individual’s perceived or actual race, ethnicity, or national origin, are unlawful. You should contact a lawyer if you feel you have been discriminated against on the basis of a protected class. You can contact our attorneys here. More information on discrimination is available here.

11. If I have a disability that makes me more vulnerable to COVID-19, is my employer required to provide reasonable accommodations related to coronavirus?

If your employer has five or more employees, it is required to provide reasonable accommodations for a disabled employee under California law unless doing so would impose an undue burden on the employer. If you have a disability such as a compromised immune system, your employer may be required to provide you with reasonable accommodations.

Working from home or changing your schedule are common accommodations, depending on the nature of your work. Unpaid leave may also be a reasonable accommodation. For more information regarding reasonable accomodations, including the limited information an employer may inquire about in order to verify your disability, Legal Aid at Work has a helpful fact sheet.   

12. What if I have been retaliated against for exercising the rights detailed above?

Retaliation against an employee for exercising their rights to medical leave, disability accomodations, or rights to pay for hours worked and reimbursement for business expenses is unlawful. Similarly, an employer may not retaliate against an employee for seeking protection under the civil rights laws, including making a claim of discrimination on the basis of a protected class. The California Labor Code also outlaws retaliation against any employee who protests, opposes, or reports conduct that they reasonably believe violates the law, including the new COVID-19 related laws.

More information on prohibited forms of retaliation is available here. If you feel you have been retaliated against for exercising your rights as an employee, our attorneys are here to listen to your experiences and explain your option.