Early in the pandemic—at our urging—Governor Newsom signed an Executive Order to protect those of us who contract COVID-19 from unscrupulous employers who deny we caught it on the job. His temporary executive order shifted the burden of proof from the worker to the employer, who can only deny the benefits under strict, proven conditions.
The executive order was retroactive from March 19, 2020—but it expired on July 5, 2020.
SB 1159 corrected that. The assumption that healthcare workers contracted COVID-19 on the job is now a law.
We worked with Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) to introduce this bill, which codified the Governor’s executive order. The Governor signed SB 1159 into law on September 17, and went into effect immediately, retroactive to July 6, 2020.