This release enhances emergency contact functionality by allowing employees to designate and manage a primary emergency contact for notification in the event of an arrest. The feature is governed by a company-level setting and supports employee self-service, imports, exports, and event processing. While this feature was designed to support compliance with California SB 294, it is available to all Core HR users who choose to enable it. 

You can learn more about setting up and using emergency contacts for legal events from our dedicated article here.

Enhancements

New Option

A new "Manage Emergency Contact for Legal Events" option is available in the Company General Settings menu for new and existing companies. 

Menu Changes - "Notify if Arrested"

• A new "Notify if Arrested" column has been added to the "Emergency Contacts" menu after the "Secondary Phone" column. Only one contact can be designated for contact in case of arrest. 
• When adding a new or editing an existing emergency contact, you can use the "Notify if Arrested" checkbox to designate the contact. Only one emergency contact can be designated as the primary. 
  
• An emergency contact designated as the "Notify if Arrested" cannot be deleted to prevent accidental deletions. Ensures a primary contact is always maintained when required. 
  

Event Workflow Integration

During employee events, a new and required "Notify if Arrested" checkbox column will be added in the "Emergency Contacts" section. Cannot save and continue the event without designating a primary contact. Cannot complete the event if no primary contact exists.

Export Primary Arrest Contact Data

When creating a custom export:

• A new "Emergency Emergency Contact - Notify if Arrested" option has been added, supporting multiple contacts with selections 01-10 (e.g., "Employee Emergency Contact - Notify If Arrested 01").
• A new "Dependents - Notify If Arrested" for dependents exports.

Import Primary Arrest Contact Data

When importing data, a new "Dependents - Notify If Arrested" column has been added to the "Emergency Contact" import. The column is required when the company-level setting is enabled and will require a "Yes" value to designate the primary contact.

Enabling The New Option

• Enable the Feature - Users  can enable this feature by navigating to Company General Settings and checking "Manage Emergency Contact for Legal Events" 
• Configure Permissions - Ensure appropriate Core HR permissions are set for authorized users 
• Communicate to Employees - Inform employees about the new "Notify If Arrested" column in their emergency contacts 
• Update Existing Data - Use the import feature to bulk update existing employee emergency contacts if needed.