The California Assembly Insurance Committee will hear testimony on Wednesday concerning SB1159, a bill that would codify Governor Newsom’s Executive Order establishing a rebuttable presumption that coronavirus (COVID-19) cases contracted at work between March 19th and July 5th are compensable. This bill would add this presumption to the Labor Code, and there has been ongoing discussion about extending the presumption past the current sunset date of 7/5/2020. This decision stands to have a major impact on how insurers handle workers’ compensation cases involving COVID-19, and how employers approach protecting themselves from such claims.
SRTK will continue to monitor this development and provide updates as available. Please contact us with any questions.