Sedgwick Launches COVID Reporting Program to Comply With SB 1159

Wednesday, October 7, 2020 | 0

Sedgwick announced a new program that it says will streamline the process of reporting COVID-19 infections as required under legislation recently enacted by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Newsom in September signed Senate Bill 1159, which, among other things, creates a presumption for some workers that COVID-19 is compensable when a workplace is experiencing an outbreak.

The bill defines an outbreak to exist when:

• Four people test positive at a business with 100 or fewer employees.
• Four percent of the people who reported to a specific worksite while working for a business with more than 100 employees test positive.

To allow claims administrators to determine whether a workplace is experiencing an outbreak, SB 1159 requires employers to report all known COVID-19 infections. The bill gives employers 30 days from Sept. 17 to report how many employees tested positive and the dates of the positive tests for cases from July 6 through Sept. 17. And it requires employers to report within three business days all positive tests recorded on or after Sept. 18.

Sedgwick said in a statement that it launched a COVID-19 intake portal for employers to report positive test results.