The newest California workplace laws
The latest laws include mandatory opioid overdose response training, expanded bereavement leave, limits on AI
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed or vetoed the last of the bills on his desk that were passed in the most recent session of the state legislature. Here are some that pertain to the workforce.
Mandatory workplace opioid overdose response training
Assembly Bill 2150 will require employers to provide training to employees required to be certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and in using naloxone to increase the rate of opioid overdose reversals. Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, sponsored the measure.
According to a news release issued by Haney’s office, “The new law will strengthen intervention, reduce response time, and increase the number of lives saved. The opioid overdose epidemic continues to impact Californians, including young people. Many overdoses occur in public settings where CPR-certified staff are already present. By equipping staff with the tools to identify an overdose and administer naloxone at the scene, AB 2150 will help ensure people can respond quickly when every minute matters.”
Required training
New California Health and Safety Code section 1797.197b will apply to any employer operating in California that requires employees to be CPR-certified. No employer is exempt solely based on “existing clinical staffing levels or internal medication administration policies.”
The training must be separate from the existing CPR training curriculum and must include how to:
- Recognize signs of an opioid overdose.
- Respond to signs of overdose, including emergency procedures.
- Administer naloxone or other opioid antagonist approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The state Emergency Medical Services Authority must approve the training program. Approved programs include those offered by the American Red Cross, a co-sponsor of the measure, and the American Heart Association.
Notwithstanding the requirement that the opioid response training be “separate from” existing CPR training, the measure says an employee “who has completed CPR certification, first aid certification, or other training” the Emergency Medical Services Authority determines includes training meeting or exceeding the minimum standards of this measure will satisfy the training requirement if the employer maintains documentation of the qualifying program or certification.
Click here to read the full article written by SCMV Shareholder Dan Eaton and published in The San Diego Union-Tribune.