Protections for Employees During “Emergency Conditions”

Effective January 1, 2023, employees must be permitted to leave work or refuse to go to work during an “emergency condition,” which is defined as a disaster or extreme peril to the safety at the workplace caused by natural forces or a crime, or an evacuation order due to a natural disaster or crime at the workplace, an employee’s home, or their child’s school. The law explicitly excludes health pandemics from the definition of “emergency condition.” However, employees who are required by law to render aid or remain on the premises in the event of an emergency, employees of health care facilities who provide direct patient care, and employees of licensed residential care facilities are excluded from the protections afforded by this new law.