top of page

COVID-19: Employee Protections and Benefits

This page serves as a resource for employees seeking information about COVID-19-related benefits and protections. If you have any questions about the information on this page, please email bonnief@peregrineschool.org.

​

This page serves as a resource for employees seeking information about COVID-19-related protections and benefits. If you have any questions about the information on this page, please email hr@peregrineschool.org.

​

PROTECTIONS

Cleaning Procedures

These procedures can also be found in our Pandemic Policies:

We use the following FDA-approved disinfectant and sanitizing products on campus:

  • DS1* for high touch surfaces e.g., bathrooms, changing tables

  • Z1 and Seventh Generation Disinfectant Spray for all other surfaces including food

  • Clorox wipes for high touch surfaces as a back-up for classroom use.

*Signet Neutral Disinfectant (DS1) which meets the EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19.

​

ECC Teachers sanitize classrooms e.g., tables, chairs, work areas throughout the day with Z1 or Seventh Generation Disinfectant Spray. The number of indoor and outdoor toy options will be used only by one cohort per day and sanitized at the end of each day. Classes will stagger their use of the bathrooms, and all bathroom surfaces are disinfected between uses. Our janitorial service cleans and disinfects the interior spaces daily after operating hours.

​

Anti-discrimination and Anti-retaliation Policies

  • Peregrine School is committed to compliance with all applicable laws providing equal employment opportunities. This commitment applies to all persons involved in School operations. Peregrine School prohibits unlawful discrimination against any job applicant, employee or unpaid intern by any employee of the School, including supervisors and coworkers. Peregrine School will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint or participating in any workplace investigation and will not tolerate or permit retaliation by management, employees or coworkers. Peregrine School will not retaliate against an employee for disclosing a positive COVID-19 test or diagnosis or order to quarantine or isolate. Employees who believe they have been retaliated against in violation of this section may file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement pursuant to Section 98.6. The complaint shall be investigated as provided in Section 98.7.

BENEFITS

2022 California COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave

Effective 2.19.2022 Covered employees in the public or private sectors who work for employers with 26 or more employees are entitled to up to 80 hours of 2022 COVID-19 related paid sick leave from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022 (updated September 2022), immediately upon an oral or written request to their employer, with up to 40 of those hours available only when an employee or family member tests positive for COVID-19. Although Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL) has been provided for three additional months, it will not entitle employees to a new bucket of leave provided under current SPSL requirements. Nor does it change the qualifying reasons for which employees may use SPSL

 

A full-time covered employee may take up to 40 hours of leave if the employee is unable to work or telework for any of the following reasons: 

  • Vaccine-Related: The covered employee is attending a vaccine or booster appointment for themselves or a family member or cannot work or telework because they have vaccine--related symptoms or are caring for a family member* with vaccine-related symptoms. An employer may limit an employee to 24 hours or 3 days of leave for each vaccination or booster appointment and any consequent side effects, unless a health care provider verifies that more recovery time is needed.

  • Caring for Yourself: The employee is subject to quarantine or isolation period related to COVID19 as defined by an order or guidance of the California Department of Public Health, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or a local public health officer with jurisdiction over the workplace; has been advised by a healthcare provider to quarantine; or is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis.

  • Caring for a Family Member: The covered employee is caring for a family member who is subject to a COVID-19 quarantine or isolation period or has been advised by a healthcare provider to quarantine due to COVID-19, or is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed or unavailable due to COVID-19 on the premises.

 

A full-time covered employee may take up to an additional 40 hours of leave if the employee is unable to work or telework for either of the following reasons:

  • The covered employee tests positive for COVID-19.

  • The covered employee is caring for a family member* who tested positive for COVID-19.

    • *A family member includes a child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling.​

 

Part-Time covered Employees: Part-time covered employees may take as leave up to the amount of hours they work over two weeks, with half of those hours available only when they or a family member test positive for COVID-19.

​

Payment: If an employee took leave for one of the reasons identified above between January 1, 2022 and February 19, 2022, and that leave was either unpaid or compensated at a rate less than the employee’s regular rate of pay, the employee may also request a retroactive payment. Payment is at the employee’s regular or usual rate of pay, not to exceed $511 per day and $5,110 in total.

 

Retaliation or discrimination against a covered employee requesting or using COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave is strictly prohibited. A covered employee who experiences such retaliation or discrimination can file a claim with the Labor Commissioner’s Office. Locate the nearest district office by looking at the directory on our website http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/DistrictOffices.htm using the alphabetical listing of cities, locations, and communities or by calling 1-833-526-4636

Workers' Compensation (SB 1159)

This California bill provides worker’s compensation benefits to employees who contract COVID during an outbreak in their workplace. It is in effect now until January 1, 2023.

  • An "outbreak" is defined as four employees testing positive for COVID-19 at a specific (physical) work site; or OR a work site being closed by a local or state public health agency due to risk of COVID infection.

  • If an employee tests positive for COVID-19 with 14 days of the outbreak or closure (or is one of founding cases of an outbreak), they are presumed to have contracted COVID-19 at work and may file a claim.

  • Workers' compensation benefits may include (but are not limited to) medical coverage and wage replacement.

Cal/OSHA Emergency Regulations

These emergency regulations are in effect as of November 30, 2020 (updated June 17, 2021) and outline a number of steps employers must undertake in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.

  • In the event of a positive COVID-19 case within the school, the school must offer COVID-19 testing at no cost to employees, during their working hours, to all employees who had a potential COVID-19 exposure in the workplace.

    • The regulations define potential COVID-19 exposure as being within six (6) feet of a positive COVID-19 case (with or without a face covering) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or greater in any 24 hour period within or overlapping with the “high-risk exposure period.”  The regulations define the “high-risk exposure period” as the following:

      • For persons who develop COVID-19 symptoms, the two (2) days before the symptoms develop until 10 days after symptoms first appeared, and 24 hours have passed with no fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications, and symptoms have improved.

      • For persons who test positive for COVID-19 and never develop symptoms: from two (2) days before until 10 days after the specimen for their first positive test was collected.​

  • In the event of a positive COVID-19 case within the school will continue to provide compensation to employees who may not report to work because they have COVID-19 (due to a workplace exposure) or are under an isolation or quarantine order issued by a local or state health official (due to a workplace exposure).

    • The School may require that these employees use employer-provided employee sick leave benefits for this purpose and consider benefit payments from public sources in determining how to maintain earnings, rights and benefits, where permitted by law and when not covered by workers’ compensation.​

  • As of June 17, 2021, employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 need not be excluded from the workplace in the event of a workplace COVID-19 exposure.

  • As of June 17, 2021, an employer must provide respirators in two scenarios: (1) to any unvaccinated employee who works with others indoors or in a vehicle and who requests one and (2) where there is a major outbreak, to any employees in the exposed group for voluntary use. The respirator must be the right size, and the employee must receive basic instruction on how to get a good “seal,” or fit.

PAGE LAST UPDATED: 11/11/2022
bottom of page