RM Alert: COVID-19 Reporting Reminder for California Members – SB 1159

January 7, 2022

This is a reminder that SB 1159 as signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom remains in effect.

One of your responsibilities under this law is the mandatory reporting responsibility of COVID-19 data by employers to their Claims Administrator. Employers must report the following four items:

  1. Any employee who has tested positive whether work-related or not
  2. The date the employee tested positive (date specimen was collected for testing; not the date of the test results)
  3. Address of the employee’s specific place of employment during the 14-day period preceding the positive test date
  4. The highest number of employees who reported to work at the employee’s specific place of employment in the 45-day period preceding the last day of employment the employee worked at that location

These four items are necessary to determine if an “Outbreak” occurred during the exposure period. The “Outbreak” concept is an important aspect of this law and will be applied to determine if work-related exposure falls under the COVID-19 presumption as defined by SB 1159.

Please include all known COVID-19 cases that have tested positive regardless of where the exposure occurred. SB 1159 further mandates that all COVID-19 exposures, whether work-related or not, known to the employer on or after September 17, 2020, be reported to their claims administrator within three (3) business days. Failure to report this data and/or reporting inaccurate data can lead to fines of up to $10,000.

To help you track your COVID-19 exposures and to be in compliance with your reporting responsibilities, we are attaching a COVID-19 Tracking Spreadsheet. The second tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet provides instructions for completing the tracking sheet.

To remain compliant, you will need to submit COVID-19 exposure data to TRISTAR on a continual basis, through January 1, 2023, when SB 1159 expires. We recommend you use the attached spreadsheet as a continual reporting tool for all reported cases. TRISTAR may need to amend the spreadsheet to comply with added requirements and an updated version of this tool will be sent to you.

Please submit your completed spreadsheet to the following email address:

Becky.schumacher@tristargroup.net

Thank you,

Lisa Molsberry | Claims Manager
Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Group
P. 800.247.5930, ext. 7447
E. Lisa.Molsberry@phmic.com