In a recent blog post, we described general registration and application considerations for employers seeking to enroll in California’s new Hospital and Skilled Nursing Facility COVID-19 Retention Payment Program (the “WRP”) on behalf of their employees, including details on eligibility, qualifying periods, and defined legal terms. Readers have asked how to analyze whether physicians and other employees who perform at least some “management” or “supervisory” duties qualify for the WRP, which we address here.Continue Reading Who is a Manager or Supervisor Excluded from California’s Healthcare Worker Retention Payment Program?

On June 30, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation to stabilize and promote the retention of California’s healthcare workforce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This response included the allocation of $1.3 billion for retention payments to physicians and other clinical and non-clinical healthcare workers. California’s Department of Health Care Services (“DHCS”) will administer the distribution of those funds through its Hospital and Skilled Nursing Facility COVID-19 Worker Retention Payment program (the “WRP”). The program is designed so that WRP payments will first be made to eligible employers, who then will pass through the WRP funds to individual physicians and other healthcare workers. In order to receive WRP funds, California employers must register with and provide certain information to DHCS on an expedited timeline.Continue Reading Important Deadline Approaches for California Healthcare Employers to Apply for Worker Retention Payments