--- title: "COVID-19 Legal Update: California" --- [![GB_logo_PrimaryBluBlkMetalic_woTag.png](https://links.gallagherbassett.com/hs-fs/hubfs/GB_logo_Horizontal3D_GGGB-vector-wotag.png?width=350&height=29&name=GB_logo_Horizontal3D_GGGB-vector-wotag.png "GB_logo_PrimaryBluBlkMetalic_woTag.png")](http://www.gallagherbassett.com?hsLang=en-us) # COVID-19 Legal Update: California ## COVID-19 Legal Update: California [<    March 18, 2020 [DWC Guidance on Med Evals](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2020/2020-21.html)      March 19, 2020 [DWC Issues Emergency Measures for Medical-Legal Evaluations during the Stay-at-home Order](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2020/2020-26.html)      March 28, 2020 [DWC and WCAB Announce Updated Hearing and Filing Procedures](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2020/2020-29.html)      April 3, 2020 [Insurance Commissioner's Alert About Immigrant Workers' Eligibility for Work Comp Benefits for COVID-19 Exposure or Illness](http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2020/release036-2020.cfm)      April 6, 2020 [Commissioner Lara Orders Insurance Companies to Refund Premiums to Drivers & Businesses Affected by COVID-19](https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2020/release038-2020.cfm)      April 13, 2020 [Commissioner Lara Requires Insurance Companies to Fairly Investigate Business Interruption Claims](https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2020/release039-2020.cfm)      April 14, 2020 [DWC and WCAB Expand Hearing Schedule at the District Offices](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2020/2020-37.html?utm_campaign=COVID-19%20Updates%20&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=87120146&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8HoEe5S29Lt306KRjEBV9-HPRzyT95gG37_dGaP_8myuUb7vCjJfk9Z-jXHac1-czPfQCB&utm_content=87120146&utm_source=hs_email)      April 28, 2020 [Executive Order - Creates Rebuttable Presumption for Workers Diagnosed with COVID-19](https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/5.6.20-EO-N-62-20-text.pdf)      May 6, 2020 [Commissioner Lara Issues Order Resulting in Workers' Compensation Premium Savings to Businesses Affected by COVID-19](https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2020/release052-2020.cfm)      June 17, 2020 [Commissioner Lara Issues Order Resulting in Auto Premium Savings Those Affected by COVID-19](https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2020/release056-2020.cfm)      June 25, 2020 [Enacted Legislation Creating a COVID-19 Workers' Compensation Presumption and New Reporting Requirements for Employers](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB1159)      Sept. 17, 2020 [Enacted Legislation Creating new Employer Obligations under Cal/OSHA](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB685)      Sept. 17, 2020 [DWC Posts Adjustment to Official Medical Fee Schedule to Adopt Medicare Updated Telehealth List to Address the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (Physician and Non-Physician Practitioner Services)](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2020/2020-92.html)      Oct 20, 2020 [Cal/OSHA Emergency Regulations to Protect Workers from COVID-19](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2020/2020-99.html)      Dec 1, 2020   ### Court Closures & Modified Call [Modified Hearing Calendar](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2020/2020-18.html)   ### Is the administrative court system closed or open? [Open with Updated Hearing Procedures ](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2020/2020-77.html)- open for essential services only; various other items via CourtCall only.   ### Does this state have a shelter-in-place in order? [Yes - starting 3/20/20 until further notice;](https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs/) phased re-opening began 5/8/20.   ### ANY STATE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE ON DISABILITY, UNEMPLOYMENT, OR HEALTH BENEFITS FOR COVID-19?  [Unemployment](https://www.edd.ca.gov/about_edd/coronavirus-2019.htm).   Last Updated: 2/1/2021 |          | [<< Gallagher Bassett COVID-19 Resource Center](https://links.gallagherbassett.com/en-us/covid-19-resource-center?hsLang=en-us) [<< Contact us with your COVID-19 Questions](http://news.gallagherbassett.com/breakingnews-covid-19) This document compiles certain state laws and websites relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic. State guidance and other government instruction have changed frequently. We thus may update this document over time. Please do not hesitate to contact your account manager, resolution manager, or your other preferred contact at Gallagher Bassett with any questions. Although we have gathered information relevant to COVID-19 and its impact on workers' compensation claims and your businesses, this is not legal advice, it does not include all pertinent information, nor should it be the basis for legal, claim, benefit, safety, or human resource-related decisions. If you would like guidance on legal issues arising from COVID-19, including whether a COVID-19 related claim is compensable under a specific state’s laws, please seek advice from legal counsel with expertise in the relevant subject areas and state laws. For Gallagher Bassett clients, if you have reported a workers’ compensation claim, then your resolution manager can assist. A Further Note on the Statutes, Definitions, Cases, and Websites Cited in this Document. State law controls if a worker is entitled or not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Each state can approach this question differently, and the relevant statutes, standards of proof, regulating agencies, court precedent, and other aspects of a workers’ compensation claim vary between jurisdictions. As a general principle, state workers’ compensation laws provide medical and wage loss benefits to workers who suffer bodily injury due to an accident, or bodily injury due to an occupational disease. The relevant bodily injury must arise out of and occur in the course of employment. This document primarily compiles state definitions of “occupational disease.” With respect to diseases for which the employee may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, the disease typically must arise from particular conditions of employment that make contracting the disease more likely than in the general population, or otherwise there must be a sufficient connection between a disease and workplace. Please consult the relevant state’s workers’ compensation act for the specific language applicable to an “occupational disease” claim. |          | | --- | --- | --- |