Workplace Protections
Date of last comprehensive review: 5/14/2021
| State | OSHA-approved state plan | State department in charge of enforcing programs | Aerosol transmissable diseases standards | Air or ventilation standards | Permanent paid sick leave SI program prior to COVID-19 | Permanent paid family and medical leave SI program prior to COVID-19 | Permanent paid sick leave SI program since COVID-19 | Permanent paid family and medical leave SI program since COVID-19 | Temporary COVID-19-specific paid leave expansions | COVID-19 anti-retaliation rules | COVID-19 business liability protections | COVID-19 liability protections for healthcare providers | Branch of government implementing COVID-19 liability rules | COVID-19 workers' compensation expansion | Types of workers eligible for workers' compensation expansion | Data reporting required for medical treatment | Minimum number of work days missed by workers to require data reporting | Occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities reporting prior to pandemic | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ■ | ||||||||||
| Alaska | 1 | 1 | ■ | 1 | 2 | 1 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesAK - Liability bill under consideration | |||||||||
| Arizona | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesAZ - Workers' compensation statement was advisory, not a mandate | |||||||
| Arkansas | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 2 | 1 | 2 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesAR - Liability immunity established in executive order (law under consideration has not been voted on) | ||||||||
| California | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ■ | NotesCA - Air filtration discussed in guidelines but left open ended; Aerosol transmissible disease standards in place pre-pandemic; COVID-19 liability protection bill under consideration | ||||||
| Colorado | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | ■ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | NotesCO - Bills introduced that consider business liability; Permanent paid family and medical leave SI program passed but not yet in effect | |||||||||
| Connecticut | 2 | 1 | ■ | ■ | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ■ | NotesCT - Liability legislation under consideration; Executive order grants health providers liability protections (preexisting statutes do not specify health providers explicitly and are focused on public employees supporting emergency response); More workers' compensation legislation under consideration; Permanent paid family and medical leave SI program passed but not yet in effect | |||||||||
| Delaware | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ■ | . | ■ | |||||||||||
| District of Columbia | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | 1 | 1 | 2 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesDC - Healthcare liability, but not businesses | |||||
| Florida | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 2 | 1 | ■ | . | NotesFL - Additional workers' compensation legislation failed April 2021 | |||||||||
| Georgia | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ■ | 7 | ■ | |||||||||
| Hawaii | 1 | 1 | ■ | 2 | 0 | 0 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesHI - Healthcare liability, but not businesses | |||||||||
| Idaho | 3 | 0 | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ■ | 1 | NotesID - Healthcare providers not explicitly included in liability law | ||||||||||
| Illinois | 2 | 1 | ■ | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ■ | NotesIL - Anti-retaliation law previously in place, but not specific to COVID-19; Business liability law under consideration (pre-existing statutes for general emergencies in place) | ||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ■ | ||||||||||
| Iowa | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ■ | ||||||||||
| Kansas | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ■ | NotesKS - New workers' compensation law under consideration | |||||||||
| Kentucky | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ■ | NotesKY - Burden of proof falls on non-frontline health workers for workers' compensation expansion; Presumed work exposure for frontline health workers' compensation; Follow-up order places burden of proof for occupational exposure on employee and refuting on employer | |||||||||
| Louisiana | 3 | 0 | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ■ | NotesLA - Workers' compensation expansion under consideration | ||||||||||
| Maine | 2 | 2 | ■ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ■ | NotesME - Paid leave law implemented on 1/1/2021, but not specifically in response to COVID-19; Paid leave law guarantees "up to 40 hours in a defined year" -- too few hours to be considered extended leave | ||||||||||
| Maryland | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | ■ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ■ | NotesMD - Liability bill under consideration; Paid leave law states "an employee is not entitled to earn more than 40 hours of earned sick and safe leave in a year or accrue more than 64 hours of earned sick and safe leave at any time" -- too few hours to be considered extended leave | ||||||||
| Massachusetts | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ■ | NotesMA - Liability bill for healthcare, not all businesses. Pre-existing statutes specify emergency care, but not specific to public health emergency. Did not consider this sufficient. New worker compensation law not passed or ordered, is being considered. | ||||||
| Michigan | 1 | 2 | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ■ | NotesMI - Paid leave for COVID-19 not mandated, but businesses must allow for leave (if workers exhausted paid leave, then leave may be unpaid); Workers' compensation legislation under consideration | |||||
| Minnesota | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ■ | NotesMN - Liability under consideration; Additional workers' compensation legislation passed, but not specific to COVID-19 and will not be enforced until later this year; Frontline workers have presumption of exposure at workplace (i.e. burden of proof falls on rebuttal) for workers' compensation; For non-frontline workers, burden of proof of contraction occurring in workplace occurs too | |||||||||
| Mississippi | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ■ | NotesMS - Pre-existing statutes appear applicable generally, but additional laws passed specifically for COVID-19 | |||||||||
| Missouri | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesMO - Liability under consideration; Workers' compensation presumption of exposure for first reponders assumed initially, but has since expired; Most recent legislation requires proof of workplace exposure | ||||||||||
| Montana | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ■ | . | ■ | |||||||||
| Nebraska | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesNE - Liability under consideration | ||||||||||
| Nevada | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesNV - Passed law requiring employers provide paid time off specifically for COVID-19 vaccination purposes | |||||||
| New Hampshire | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ■ | . | NotesNH - Liability under consideration | |||||||||||
| New Jersey | 2 | 2 | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | 1 | 2 | 2 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesNJ - Amended existing sick leave mandates to include certain public-health-related uses as protected uses of employees’ existing general sick leave benefits; Liability bills under consideration for businesses; Workers' compensation covers those in critical public-facing jobs (includes food work), assuming they have no option to work from home; Expanded paid family leave program during COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| New Mexico | 1 | 1 | ■ | 2 | 2 | 1 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesNM - Passed paid leave and anti-retaliation provisions but will not take effect until 2022; Liability considerations focused on healthcare | |||||||||
| New York | 2 | 1 | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ■ | 1 | ■ | NotesNY - Liability protections for health providers repealed; No business general liabitiy protections passed; Worker compensation laws considered, but no rules ordered; Expanded paid family leave program during COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| North Carolina | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ■ | NotesNC - New workers' compensation law was considered but not passed | |||||||||
| North Dakota | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ■ | . | ||||||||||
| Ohio | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ■ | NotesOH - New workers' compensation law was considered but not passed | |||||||||
| Oklahoma | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ■ | . | ||||||||||
| Oregon | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ■ | NotesOR - COVID-19 anti-retaliation implemented directly by Oregon OSHA; Liability bill focused on schools specifically; Permanent paid family and medical leave SI program passed but not yet in effect | |||||||
| Pennsylvania | 3 | 0 | ■ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ■ | NotesPA - Philadelphia implemented anti-retaliation measures, but not statewide; Liability protections for businesses vetoed first time, now under consideration again; New workers' compensation law was considered but not passed | ||||||||||
| Rhode Island | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | ■ | 2 | 0 | 0 | ■ | 3 | NotesRI - Liability order for healthcare; New workers' compensation law was considered but not passed; Paid family leave program called the Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) program | ||||||||
| South Carolina | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ■ | 1 | ■ | NotesSC - Respiratory protections listed, not air/filtration; Liability order for healthcare; New workers' compensation law was considered but not passed | ||||||||
| South Dakota | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ■ | 7 | ||||||||||
| Tennessee | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 2 | 1 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesTN - First workers' compensation law failed; New law passed that establishes WHO public health emerrgencies as situation where presumption applies for frontline health workers | ||||||||
| Texas | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ■ | NotesTX - Liability protections under consideration; COVID-19 workers' compensation expansion under consideration | |||||||||||
| Utah | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 2 | 1 | ■ | . | ■ | |||||||||
| Vermont | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 2 | 2 | ■ | 1 | ■ | NotesVT - Liability protections focused on healthcare; Workers' compensation presumption now applicable to all workers retroactively | ||||||||
| Virginia | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 2 | 1 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesVA - Expanded paid sick leave to home healthcare workers only; New workers' compensation law was considered but not passed | ||||||||
| Washington | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | ■ | ■ | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ■ | NotesWA - Expanded paid sick leave to food workers; Workers' compensation rule initially appeared to place burden of proof on health workers, now there is a rebuttable presumption in the passed legislation that Governor is expected to sign; Expanded paid family leave program during COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
| West Virginia | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ■ | . | ■ | |||||||||
| Wisconsin | 3 | 0 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ■ | NotesWI - Interaction w/ exposure to someone w/ COVID-19 at work needed as proof for workers' compensation (rebuttal needs proof too); If any exposure to someone w/ COVID-19 in work setting, presumption is held | |||||||||
| Wyoming | 1 | 1 | ■ | ■ | 1 | 2 | 2 | ■ | . | ■ | NotesWY - Workers' compensation law expands definition of occupational injury to include COVID-19 | ||||||||
| Total | N/A | N/A | 3 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 26 | 35 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 28 | N/A | 43 |