California AB 685 Compliance With Kiana Smart Building Management Solution
- California AB 685 Takes Effect on Jan 1, 2021! Be AB 685 Compliant Ready With Kiana Smart Building Management Solution?
Covid at Work: CA AB-685 New Rules to Protect Employees. Webinar with Alka Ramchandani-Raj, an Employment lawyer with Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice.
Nader Fathi, CEO Kiana Analytics,
Sebastian Andreatta, COO & VP Biz Dev, Kiana Analytics
What CA AB-685 Means for California Companies: A Webinar with Robert Gilbert, Counsel, Latham & Watkins LLP, and Linda Inscoe, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP.
Nader Fathi, CEO Kiana Analytics,
Sebastian Andreatta, COO & VP Biz Dev, Kiana Analytics
What is it?
New California Law AB 685 requires public & private employers to provide Written Notice of COVID-19 exposure in the workplace, and empowers CAL/OSHA to shut down worksites posing “imminent hazard”.
AB 685 becomes effective January 1, 2021, and employers are urged to review their COVID-19 related process and procedures NOW to ensure they are compliant. Given that employee notices, in particular, must be circulated within one business day, it is imperative that employers have their employee notice process, and their “exposed employee identification processes (Contact Tracing)” in place ahead of time.
What do you need to do?
- Identify all potentially exposed individuals present at the worksite upon identification of a COVID-19 positive case
- Provide written notice within 1 business day to all employees & contractors who were physically present at the worksite to potential exposure to COVID-19.
- Maintain records of notification data for at least 3 years.
What are the effects?
- Allows the State to track COVID-19 cases in workplace more closely
- Expand CAL/OSHA’s authority to issue IMMEDIATE “Stop Work Orders” for any violation in the workplace that poses a risk of an “imminent hazard” relating to COVID 19. The presumption is of fault, foregoing the 15 day warning period that’s usually available to correct a problem and going straight to shutdown.
What are the penalties for non-compliance?
- AB 685 grants Cal/OSHA expanded authority to enforce safety violations through both citations and worksite shutdowns. Also, the bill specifies an accelerated timeline for handling COVID-19-related Serious Violations, forgoing the 15 day rebuttal period.
- Per the California Code of Regulations, any employer who violates any occupational safety and health standard determined to be a Serious Violation can be assessed a civil penalty of up to $25,000 for each violation.
Kiana’s Digital Contact Tracing and Facilities Management Platform Enables AB 685 Compliance
Kiana, a leader in Real Time Location Analytics, provides a Digital Contact Tracing Platform, including the necessary software tools, analytics and processes, to achieve a safe and secure environment expeditiously. The solution provides easy to use software, techniques and procedures to identify people that have been exposed on site to an infected individual, and alert them and others to unsafe conditions. The Contact Tracing Solution is built at its core to protect a person’s sensitive data and information.
Kiana Digital Contact Tracing and Smart Building Facilities Management Platform Helps Employers Implement & Execute a Return to Work COVID-19 Pandemic Plan
California AB 685 Requirements
Kiana Contact Tracing & Facilities Management Solution
Requires all employers to take ACTION within ONE BUSINESS DAY of a “potential exposure” based on a confirmed COVID-19 Case (Qualifying Individual) in the “workplace”
Once an employee is confirmed COVID-19 positive, Kiana’s Smart Building Digital Contact Tracing Platform can identify all “exposed individuals” immediately, making the ONE BUSINESS DAY turnaround easily achievable.
All employees and contractors who were “at the worksite within the infectious period” must receive written notice that they may have been exposed to the virus.
Kiana’s Smart Building Contact Tracing Platform keeps historical data such that all contact exposures during the infectious period (14 days + 48 hours PRIOR to symptoms developing) is continuously available.
The “worksite” does not apply to buildings, floors, or other locations of the employer that an infected individual did not enter.
Kiana can not only identify individuals who have been exposed, but also affected areas. The entire facility need not be shut down, only the specific locations (zones) that the infected individual entered. This allows the employer to perform “surgical shutdown and cleaning“, saving time and resources.
The employer must provide notice to employees regarding the company’s disinfection protocols and safety plan to eliminate any further exposures, per CDC guidelines.
The company’s policy for closing exposed zones, cleaning, and subsequent re-opening can be communicated easily. Real-time zone alerts can be provided to management and facilities to immediately close down compromised areas, minimizing further exposures. Kiana can also provide alerts to management, security, and safety officers when an unauthorized or quarantined individual is attempting to enter affected areas.
The employer must still maintain confidentiality as required by the American Disabilities Act (ADA). The notice to employees should not reveal the identity of the COVID-19 positive person.
Kiana’s Smart Building Facility Management & Contact Tracing Solution keeps Personal Identity Information (PII) within the employer’s control. Also, the potentially exposed employee’s information is also kept private. A report is provided for the infected individual with dates and exposure times and the location of where exposed.
Employers should have a “COVID-19 Action Plan” that identifies the workplace’s risks and determines how to control exposure through such measures as improving ventilation, social distancing and protective gear.
Social distancing violations can easily be identified by the Contact Tracing Platform’s proximity analyses. In addition, the system can alert when more than the allowed number of people are present in a particular room or area. Real time density heat maps are provided to alert management / health and safety when there is a violation of density rules.
Employers should draft and implement a separate COVID-19 Pandemic Plan that addresses all COVID-19 exposures, and identifies the employer’s manner in which to correct those exposures . The plan should include how the employer will enforce its procedures, provide training, conduct inspections, and review its processes for effectiveness.
Historical data storage and analyses provide clear documentation of exposures, enforcement of social distancing protocols, and cleaning of affected zones. Documentation is easily provided to the CDPH and other necessary organizations as required.
Screenshots from Kiana’s AB 685 Compliance Smart Building Facility Management & Digital Contact Tracing Platform
Employee Exposure Notification Report Form (AB685 compliant)
Definitions
Workplace or Worksite:
The building, store, facility, agricultural field, or other location where a worker worked during the “infectious period”. The term “worksite” does not apply to buildings, floors, or other locations of the employer that an infected individual did not enter.
Written Notice:
Written Notice can be personal service, email, or text message if it can be reasonably anticipated to be received by the employee within on business day of sending.
Infectious Period:
California Department of Public Health defines the infectious period as 14 days, including, at a minimum, the 48 hours before the individual developed symptoms.
Read the Complete FAQs
Resources:
- Kiana AB-685 Press Release
- California Legislative Information: Assembly Bill No. 685
- California AB685 Imposes New Notice and Reporting Obligations for COVID-19 Workplace Exposure:
- Enactment of AB 685 Establishes COVID-19 Exposure Notice Requirements for CA Employers and CAL/OSHA Enforcement Changes:
- California Department of Public Helath Issues COVID-19 “Employer Playbook”
- Reyes’ Covid-19 Worker Protection Legislation Signed by Governor
- CA Department of Public Health: Employer Questions about AB 685, California’s new COVID-19 Law
Prospective Customers: Please use this Contact Form to request more information and get a personalized demo of the AB 685 Compliance Solution from Kiana at your convenience
Partners and Compliance Consultants: Please use this Contact Form to speak with a Kiana representative about helping your clients achieve AB685 Compliance with the Kiana Solution