Updated July 19, 2021 - San Francisco Amendment on Telework during Health Order Restrictions

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an amendment to the Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) on June 22, 2021. The legislation provides HCSO coverage to employees working remotely outside of San Francisco while public health orders recommend that employees work remotely.

Note that the City’s June 11^th public health order removed the recommendation that employers “allow office employees to continue to work remotely as much as possible.” Unless or until new City health order restrictions are issued, employees working remotely outside of San Francisco are not covered by the HCSO employer spending requirements. 

Find information on who is a Covered Employee here.

Updated May 4, 2021 - San Francisco Waives 2020 Reporting Requirement

The City of San Francisco has waived the employer reporting requirement for the Health Care Security and Fair Chance Ordinances for calendar year 2020 due to the COVID-19 public health crisis. Note that employers are required to comply with all other aspects of the Health Care Security and Fair Chance Ordinances. See the legislative record for details.

Overview

Under the Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO), all covered employers must meet the following obligations:

1. Satisfy the Employer Spending Requirement by making required health care expenditures on a quarterly basis on behalf of all covered employees (those who have been employed for more than 90 days and who regularly work at least 8 hours per week in San Francisco) at the following rates:
 

Employer Size	Number of Workers	2020 Expenditure Rate	2021 Expenditure Rate
Large	All employers w/ 100+ workers	$3.08 per hour payable	$3.18 per hour payable
Medium	Businesses w/ 20-99 workers Nonprofits w/ 50-99 workers	$2.05 per hour payable	$2.12 per hour payable
Small	Businesses w/ 0-19 workers Nonprofits w/ 0-49 workers	Exempt	Exempt

• 2021 Exemption Threshold: managerial, supervisory, and confidential employees who earn more than $107,991 annually (or $51.92 per hour) are exempt. As of January 1, 2022, the new threshold will be $109,643 per year (or $52.71 per hour).  More information and rates from prior years are available here.

2. Maintain records sufficient to establish compliance with the employer spending requirement.

3. Post the  2021 HCSO Poster in all workplaces with covered employees.

4. Submit an Annual Reporting Form to the OLSE by April 30th of each year.

If you have questions about the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance or wish to report a violation of the law, call 415-554-7892 or email hcso@sfgov.org.

Statutory Authority

• San Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 14: Health Care Security Ordinance
•  Health Care Security Ordinance Rules
• HCSO Administrative Guidance:

Advisory: The HCSO Administrative Guidance has not been revised to reflect all of the changes that took effect on January 1, 2017.  Certain provisions of this Guidance, therefore, may not be consistent with the Health Care Security Ordinance ("HCSO"), Administrative Code Chapter 14.  In particular, no provision of the Guidance should be interpreted to mean that anything other than fully irrevocable Health Care Expenditures can be counted toward the employer spending requirement, as of first quarter of 2017.  In any instance where the Administrative Guidance, or the Regulations, conflict with the Ordinance, the Ordinance itself governs and should be followed instead.  Contact OLSE for more information.

A. Overview
B. Covered Employers
C. Covered Employees
D. Calculating Required Health Care Expenditures
E. Making Required Health Care Expenditures
F. Revocable & Irrevocable Health Care Expenditures
G. Contributing to the City Option
H. Employer Notice-Posting Requirement

I. Employer Recordkeeping Requirements
J. Employer Reporting Requirements
K. Health Surcharges
L. Retaliation Prohibited
M. Filing a Complaint
N. Penalties
O. HCSO and the Affordable Care Act
 

Download the full HCSO Administrative Guidance

Filing a Complaint

To report a violation of the Health Care Security Ordinance, please complete the HCSO Complaint Form and submit it to the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement, or call (415) 554-7892.

OLSE Health Care Security Ordinance Complaint Form (PDFs)
English   Spanish  Chinese

You can email it to hcso@sfgov.org, fax it to (415) 554-6291, or bring it to the OLSE office at:

City Hall, Room 430 
Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102

Forms & Documents 

• 2020 HCSO Poster must be posted at all workplaces or job sites.
• 2021 HCSO Poster (Effective January 1, 2021) 

• HCSO Employee Voluntary Waiver Form (PDFs)
  English Chinese Spanish Filipino
   
• HCSO Training: OLSE held an employer webinar on the requirements of the HCSO on December 7, 2017. 
  • View the recording of the HCSO webinar. (Note that there is a short delay in the recording before slides are visible.)
  • View the slides from the HCSO webinar.
    ​

• Webinar: Self-Funded Insurance Plans: HCSO Calculation Instructions for Employer​ - January 10, 2020

  • View the Webinar recording
  • Download the  Presentation Slides
  • Download the  Self Funded Calculation Instructions
  • Download the  Sample Letter to Employees

• ​Hearing Officer Decisions

Annual Reporting

Employers covered by the Health Care Security Ordinance are required to submit the Employer Annual Reporting Form by April 30 each year or face penalties of up to $500 per quarter.

Consistent with the Mayor's February 25th, 2020 Emergency Proclamation, the City canceled the employer requirement to submit the 2019 Annual Reporting Form for the Health Care Security Ordinance and the Fair Chance Ordinance.

HCSO Annual Reporting Summary for 2014-2017

San Francisco City Option

One way that employers may comply with the HCSO’s spending requirement is by making contributions to the SF City Option on behalf of their covered employees. Depending upon eligibility, employees who receive these contributions will receive:

(1) enrollment in a SF Medical Reimbursement Account, a health care account with funds that can be used for eligible health care expenses incurred by the employee, the employee's spouse or registered domestic partner, and the employee's dependents; or

(2) enrollment in a SF Covered Medical Reimbursement Account, a health care spending account for employees enrolled in a health insurance plan through Covered California; or

(3) free or discounted enrollment into Healthy San Francisco, a health care access program designed to make health care services available and affordable to uninsured San Francisco residents.

• Upon contributing to the SF City Option, employers must provide their employees with a one-time Employee Health Care Payment Confirmation (PDFs) (English) (Chinese) (Spanish) (Filipino)
• To learn more about contributing to the SF City Option, visit www.sfcityoption.org or contact SF City Option Program Management at employerservices@sfcityoption.org or (415) 615-4492. 
   

 Health Care Surcharges

• Businesses are neither required to, nor prohibited from, imposing surcharges on their customers to offset the cost of complying with the Health Care Security Ordinance. However, employers that elect to impose such surcharges must comply with specific requirements.
• On May 1, 2009, the State Board of Equalization issued a Special Notice (PDF) regarding the taxability of such surcharges. To reach the State Board of Equalization, please call (800) 400-7115.
   

Contact Us 

• Please email hcso@sfgov.org or call (415) 554-7892 with any questions regarding your rights and responsibilities under the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance.
• Sign up for email updates! Join the OLSE email list to receive periodic updates about San Francisco labor laws.