Hospital workers: COVID-19 testing.

Existing law sets forth safety and health requirements for employers and employees. Existing law requires a public or private employer of workers in a general acute care hospital, as defined, to supply personal protective equipment, as defined, to employees who provide direct patient care or who provide services that directly support patient care. Existing law provides that, except where another penalty is specifically provided, every employer and every officer, management official, or supervisor having direction, management, control, or custody of any employment, place of employment, or of any other employee, who repeatedly violates any standard, order, or special order, or any provision of specified employment safety laws so that such repeated violation creates a real and apparent hazard to employees is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would require the employer to supply personal protective equipment to an employee, regardless of whether or not the employee has received a vaccination for COVID-19. This bill would also require a public or private employer of workers in a general acute care hospital to develop and implement a program to offer weekly COVID-19 screening testing for health care personnel, as defined. The bill would require the program to meet certain requirements, including requiring the employer to conduct the COVID-19 screening testing by administering to participating health care personnel a specified COVID-19 test with results obtained within 48 hours, offering all health care personnel the opportunity to participate in the screening testing program, and offering health care personnel who have signs or symptoms consistent with COVID-19 the opportunity to be tested for COVID-19 within 24 hours. The bill would require an employer to develop and implement health care personnel screening testing guidelines that include policies and procedures that address the use of COVID-19 test results, as specified. The bill would require an employer to develop a COVID-19 mitigation and testing plan containing the requirements described above and to make the plan available to the department and health care personnel and their representatives upon request. The bill would also require an employer to test all patients for COVID-19 prior to admission to the hospital, except as provided, and to monitor all patients during their hospital stay for the development of COVID-19 symptoms. The bill would require a patient that is not tested prior to admission to the hospital to be considered a potential COVID-19 patient, as defined, and would require health care personnel to be provided and to wear full personal protective equipment when providing care to such a patient. The bill would, if an employer provides emergency services and direct patient care services in a general acute care hospital controlled by another employer, impose the requirements of this section only on the employer who controls the general acute care hospital and would require that employer to meet those requirements in that hospital. The bill would impose these requirements only until January 1, 2025. Because the bill would expand the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.