Volume 26 I Thursday July 2, 2020

California Employees Who Refuse to Return to Work Risk Loss of Unemployment Benefits Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC   Here’s some news for California employers and employees wrestling with the question of how to return to work. Recently, California’s state agency in charge of administering unemployment benefits, the Employment Development Department (“EDD”), issued a new set of general guidance ( here) regarding employees who refuse to return to work as businesses reopen across the state. Specifically, the EDD reiterated that individuals are disqualified for unemployment benefits if they refuse to accept “suitable” employment when offered. What is a “suitable” offer of employment?  Under California law, the EDD will consider whether the particular work is “suitable” in light of factors such as the degree of risk involved to the individual’s health and safety, and as a result whether the individual has “good cause” for refusing the work. In the context of COVID-19, a “suitable” offer of employment is one in which an employer is complying with all state and federal safety regulations (e.g. those promulgated by OSHA and the CDC). If these governmental protocols are being met, laid-off or furloughed employees who do not have underlying health issues that may increase their susceptibility to COVID-19 may not have “good cause” to refuse to return to work and could be disqualified from receiving further unemployment benefits. What about telework?  Under the new EDD guidance, workers who do have “high risk” factors for COVID-19 could still lose their unemployment benefits if they turn down an employer’s offer to telework. What about wage cuts?  The new EDD guidance also threatens loss of unemployment benefits for workers who refuse “suitable” offers of employment because the wages they are being offered are less than their current unemployment benefits. This part of the new guidance applies so long as the offered wages are the “prevailing wage based on the individual’s particular skill or occupation.” Reporting to EDD.  The new EDD guidance provides employers with different ways to inform the agency of an employee’s refusal to return to work including sending in a letter within 15 days from the date the job offer was turned down.

Statewide Order Requires Masks in Public   On June 18 Governor Gavin Newson signed a statewide executive order requiring people to wear face coverings (e.g., masks) in both indoor and outside locations where social distancing is not feasible.   According to the Governor’s office, the goal is “to reduce the release of infectious particles into the air when someone speaks, coughs, or sneezes, including someone who has COVID-19 but feels well.”   Face coverings have to be worn when people are inside or in line to enter any indoor public space, obtaining healthcare services, waiting or riding on public transportation, engaged in work at a workplace with other people, and in other scenarios, according to the order.   A number of metropolitan areas already have passed similar orders, including Michigan, New York, Maine, Delaware, and Maryland already have statewide mask orders.   Newson noted that “California’s strategy to restart the economy and get people back to work will only be successful if people act safely and follow health recommendations. That means wearing a face covering, washing your hands and practicing physical distancing.”    So far, state officials have reported that more than 160,000 cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed along with more than 5,200 deaths. The Executive Order does not address how the Order will be enforced. State officials may believe that places where the public congregates will enforce the requirement before granting access to the facility or activity.

PPP Forgiveness Applications & Instructions Here is the new PPP Forgiveness Applications and Instructions that were revised last week. Also attached the new EZ form Forgiveness Application and the instructions.

PPP-Forgiveness-Application-3508EZ PPP-Loan-Forgiveness-Application-Instructions

SBA-Form-3508-PPP-Forgiveness-Application PPP EZ Application Instructions

The Hit Ratio is King The most important number in a printer’s life is the “hit ratio,” the percentage of quotes that turn into orders. High profit printers almost always achieve that status by fully utilizing their plant and equipment— 24/5 or better is nirvana. That means that getting the order is more important than “getting your price.” The hit ratio is the best measure of this. Even better, it should be calculated for each customer and probably each product. This is a simple statistic to collect, but once obtained, it’s a powerful tool to guide pricing policy to full plant utilization and higher profits at the end of the month.  Particularly at this time of restarting customer relationships and creating new ones, the emphasis should be on getting the order, not getting your estimate. Your plant can’t restart without work and buying relationships can’t be rebuilt without orders . Their Pricing Is Too Low When you are considering the purchase of another shop, the temptation is to check their pricing as if it’s too low you believe that you’ll lose money. On the face of it, this seems sensible but upon examination it is almost always wrong. Your pricing almost always comes from your estimating system--the home of the $300/hour press and the 20% markup on materials. The reality is that a job brought into your plant requires only the payment of the wages of the people who do the work on it, the payment for the materials and outside purchases and the commission (if any). On average, these amount to about 60% of the estimate. A moment’s thought reveals that if the new work was at 90% of your estimate, you would put in your pocket 30 cents of every dollar billed .

Responding to COVID-19 In The Workplace On June 16, 2020, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released a checklist for employers experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19 in their workplace with the following: How to prepare for identification of COVID-19 outbreaks in the workplace. How to prepare to share information with the local health department and other stakeholders. Understanding requirements for reporting employee cases to Cal/OSHA. Identifying additional employee cases and close contacts of cases to control further spread in the workplace. Notification and management of employees. Determining when it is appropriate for case and contacts of cases to return to work. How to perform frequent cleaning and disinfecting as well as deep/enhanced cleaning and disinfection after employees with COVID-19 have been at work. Where to check for new and additional resources. CDC guidance. Cal/OSHA guidance. The Governor’s roadmap with additional employer checklists. CDPH advises employers to be mindful that identification of a single positive case among employees may quickly develop into an outbreak. Source: THINKHR Recording and Reporting Requirements for COVID-19 Cases In May 2020, the California Department of Industrial Relations released frequently asked questions addressing California employers’ responsibilities to record COVID-19 work-related fatalities, injuries, and illnesses, like any other occupational illness, on their Log 300. To be recordable, an illness must be work-related and result in one of the following: Death. Days away from work. Restricted work or transfer to another job. Medical treatment beyond first aid. Loss of consciousness. A significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional. If a work-related COVID-19 case meets one of these criteria, then covered employers in California must record the case on their 300, 300A and 301 or equivalent forms. The FAQs also address all of the following: Whether a COVID-19 case must be confirmed to be recordable. How to determine if a COVID-19 case is work-related for recordkeeping purposes. Whether time an employee spends in quarantine is considered “days away from work” for recording purposes. When employers must immediately report COVID-19 illnesses to Cal/OSHA. What to do when employees become sick at work but the illness is not work-related. What to do when an employee began to show symptoms outside of work. Whether an illness must be reported even if

In these unprecedented and uncertain times, PIA San Diego is committed to providing the printing and graphic arts community with the most up-to-date resources on the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Visit our website

Phone: 858.800.6900 I Email: Info@piasd.org ‌ ‌ ‌