After reports circulated that Gov. Gavin Newsom was considering an executive order that would allow employees who contract COVID-19 to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits, the governor officially signed the order on May 6, according to a press release.
If an eligible employee “tested positive for COVID-19 or was diagnosed with COVID-19 and confirmed by a positive test within 14 days of performing a labor or service at a place of work after the stay-at-home order was issued,” then they will have a rebuttable presumption for accessing workers’ compensation benefits, the release states.
A rebuttable presumption is when something is assumed to be true, unless contested and proven otherwise. The presumption in this case will remain in place until 60 days after the governor signed the order.
In response to the governor’s decision, farm bureaus at the state and local levels expressed concern regarding the burden that the order could place on farming employers.
A coalition of California agricultural institutions—including the California Farm Bureau Federation, Agricultural Council of California, Western Growers, and California Fresh Fruit Association—issued a statement on May 7.
“This executive order will add more financial weight at a very difficult time,” the coalition wrote. “Instead, if the goal is to restart California’s economy, then the added economic burden of medical claims related to COVID-19 should be borne by the government, not the essential industries providing a public good during a global pandemic.”
Teri Bontrager, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau, told the Sun that while local farming employers “want to make sure that their workforce is healthy,” from her perspective, the governor’s order is not the best way to achieve that end.
“We think that the governor’s action was ill-advised and will result in employers being asked to bear additional costs for illnesses that may not be work-related, which isn’t what worker’s compensation is supposed to be about,” she said. “It will unnecessarily and significantly drive up costs for all California employers at a time where they’re struggling to keep their workforce employed.”
Abraham Melendrez, a Santa Maria community organizer with the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, told the Sun that the governor’s order is a much-needed protection for workers in an unprecedented situation.
“I think this is an important protection for our society’s most essential workers who are putting their lives on the line so that we can all live our own lives, so we can all eat,” Melendrez said. “What it’s doing is removing the barriers for workers who are getting sick, specifically for COVID-19, and can’t do their job, to have that vital safety net as quick as possible rather than having to deal with bureaucracy first before getting any help.”
Bontrager said that local farmers are already struggling to yield their expected harvests.
“It really hits us hard,” she said. “We’re not able to get all of the workers that we need here and then we have all kinds of forces playing against us to get the harvest out.”
Melendrez said that he believes these workers’ compensation protections are essential to keeping a sustainable workforce.
“Workers are really what drive our economy, not huge corporations,” he said. “If you don’t have the workers sustaining these businesses, then the businesses will also not be there.”
This article appears in May 14-21, 2020.