In an expected move given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, on September 29, 2022, Governor Newsom signed into law two workers’ compensation bills, AB 1751 and SB 1127, but vetoed another bill, SB 284.
The signing of AB 1751 extends the currently existing presumption of injury for certain types of public safety employees and when an “outbreak” of COVID-19 occurs at the place of employment. These presumptions now expire January 1, 2024 instead of January 1, 2023. AB 1751 also expands the types of employees who qualify for the presumption, even without an outbreak, to include active firefighting members of a fire department at the State Department of State Hospitals, the State Department of Developmental Services, the Military Department, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and to officers of a state hospital under the jurisdiction of the State Department of State Hospitals and the State Department of Developmental Services.
