Office of Labor Standards Enforcement

Announcements/Updates

Ninth Circuit Decision Continues to be in Effect while U.S. Supreme Court Considers Whether to Hear GGRA Appeal
On June 8, 2009, the GGRA filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting the Court to rule on the legality of the ESR. On October 5, 2009, the Court did not decide to hear the case, but requested the Solicitor General to file a brief expressing the federal government's views on the GGRA's petition. The Court will decide whether to hear the case after reviewing the Solicitor General's brief. Employers should be aware that the Court of Appeals' September 30, 2008 decision upholding the ESR continues to be in effect for all covered businesses. For more information about the lawsuit, use this link.

HCSO Email List
To be added to the HCSO email list to receive updates on the litigation, presentation schedules, and other information regarding implementation of this law, please send an email, with "mailing list" in the subject line, to HCSO@sfgov.org.

Effective January 9, 2008, the Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) requires Covered Employers to make health care expenditures for their Covered Employees and mandates the Department of Public Health (DPH) to create the Health Access Plan (HAP), now called Healthy San Francisco. Healthy San Francisco is only one option by which a covered employer can satisfy its obligation to make the required health care expenditure (HCE). Covered Employers may also purchase health insurance coverage for their covered Employees, make payments to the City for the benefit of their Covered Employees, or make the required HCE in a variety of other manners.

Please note that 2008 expenditures should be calculated using the 2008 rate; in other words, employers should begin using the 2009 rate to calculate the minimum expenditure for the first quarter of 2009 (which would include hours paid from January 1, 2009 through March 31, 2009).

Annual Salary Exemption Figure for 2009 & 2010
Pursuant to Regulation 3.2(A)(1), an employee who was a manager, supervisor, or confidential employee and who earned at or above an annual salary of $76,851 in 2008 was exempt from coverage under the HCSO. The Controller's Office has determined that the annual salary exemption for 2009 & 2010 will be $80,397 or $38.65/hour. Please review Regulation 3.2(A)(1) for a detailed definition of a manager, supervisor, or confidential employee. (You may download the Final Regulations by using the link in the section below.)

Quarterly Expenditures Due Within 30 Days of End of Quarter
Quarterly expenditure deadlines for 2009 are as follows:

• April 30, 2009 (for the quarter including January, February & March 2009)
• July 30, 2009 (for the quarter including April, May, & June 2009)
• October 30, 2009 (for the quarter including July, August, & September 2009)
• January 30, 2010 (for the quarter including October, November, & December 2009)

Employers that choose the City Option are required to provide Healthy San Francisco with a list of employees who will benefit from their contribution when they make their quarterly payments. To register your employees and make payment for the City Option, use this link. Note, however, that registering with Healthy San Francisco and making quarterly contributions for the City Option is different from the required Annual Reporting to OLSE, below.

The OLSE Regulations Implementing the Employer Spending Requirement of the Health Care Security Ordinance have been finalized. All oral and written comments submitted to the OLSE were considered in the final revisions to these regulations. For more information about the rulemaking process, please use this link. Final regulations were released on July 12, 2007. For a copy of the final regulations, please use the following link:

• Final Regulations Implementing the Employer Spending Requirement of the Health Care Security Ordinance (PDF) posted 6/16/08

•  Health Care Security Ordinance, Administrative Code Chapter 14

• Annual Reporting Form please use this link NOTE: Self-employed individuals, independent contractors, employers with 19 or fewer employees total (including any employees located outside of SF), and nonprofits with 49 or fewer employees total (including any employees located outside of SF) are not covered by the HCSO and should not return the Annual Reporting Form. 
• Employee Health Care Payment Confirmation (PDF) (English) (Chinese) (Spanish ) posted 7/17/09
• Employee Voluntary Waiver Form (PDF) (English) (Chinese) (Spanish) reformatted, posted 10/13/09 
• 2009 Notice to Employers (PDF) (English) (Chinese) (Spanish) posted 1/15/09, 2/12/09, & 2/20/09
• Educational Presentations & Materials
  • Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) revised, posted 4/22/09
  • HCSO full presentation (PDF) handouts2 handouts6 posted 1/26/09
  • HCSO condensed presentation (PDF) handouts2 handouts6 posted 1/26/09
  • HCSO/HCAO presentation (PDF) handouts2 posted 4/3/08
  • Flowchart of Steps to Calculate the Minimum Required Health Care Expenditure (PDF) posted 2/20/09
  • ESR Calculator (Excel) posted 2/20/09 -- Please download and save this spreadsheet to your computer before attempting to use it.
  • Q&A and Line-by-Line Instructions for the ESR Calculator (PDF) revised, posted 5/19/09

• Healthy San Francisco and the City Option
• Department of Public Health's Final Regulations Implementing the Healthy San Francisco and Medical Reimbursement Account Provisions of the HCSO (outside SFGov.org)
• San Francisco Department of Public Health (outside SFGov.org)

• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses (outside SFGov.org)
• Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector -- Pursuant to the SF Business & Tax Regulations Code, any individual or entity engaging in business in San Francisco for seven or more days a year must obtain a business registration certificate from the Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector within 15 days of business operation. For questions about business registration obligations, use the link above or call (415) 554-4400.
• United States Postal Service Zip Code Lookup -- For a general guide to the areas located within the geographic boundaries of the City and County of San Francisco, use the USPS Zip Code Lookup. Note, however, that employers located in the Presidio (various zip codes) and at SF International Airport (94128) are NOT covered under this Ordinance.
• State Board of Equalization -- On May 1, 2009, the State Board of Equalization issued a notice regarding the taxability of surcharges imposed by businesses in response to the Employer Spending Requirement of the Health Care Security Ordinance. For more information, please use this link. To reach the State Board of Equalization, please call 800-400-7115.

Please email HCSO@sfgov.org or call 554-7892 with any questions regarding your rights and responsibilities under the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance.