Employee Rights During Natural Disasters

California Employers Association provides information to assist employers with understanding new laws and guidelines.

In many areas, this summer has broken temperature records, creating raging fires in California, and hurricanes in other parts of the nation. From a human resource compliance perspective, there are employee rights that California businesses should consider, as well as options to assist employees when a natural disaster hits your community and impacts your staff.

Refusal to Report to Work

First, California employers should be aware of a relatively new law that went into effect last year, known as SB 1044, which allows an employee to refuse to report to work during an emergency condition.

More specifically, the law prohibits an employer from taking or threatening adverse action (e.g., discipline) against any employee for refusing to report to work or leaving the worksite when the employee has a reasonable belief it is unsafe due to an emergency condition.

An Emergency Condition is defined as either:

1. Conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons or property caused by natural forces or a criminal act; or
2. An order to evacuate a workplace, worksite, or worker’s home, or the school of a worker’s child due to a natural disaster or a criminal act.

Of course, natural disasters may include events such as wildfires, flooding, earthquakes, etc. Criminal acts may encompass events such as bomb threats and active shooters.

Note that the law also prohibits an employer from preventing any employee access to their mobile device to seek emergency assistance, assess the safety of the situation, or to communicate with a person to confirm their safety. As such, make sure that if you do restrict cellphone use in your workplace, your policies carves out emergency circumstances.

The law does not apply to specific groups, such as first responders and certain healthcare workers.

For more resources and information regarding Reporting Time Pay and Leaves of Absence, please visit the California Employer’s Association page here to read the full article: https://www.employers.org/blog/2024/08/08/default/employee-rights-during-natural-disasters/

If you have any questions or need help understanding how this may affect your business, give FLORES a call. Contact us at (619) 588-2411.