Law Goes into Effect July 1, 2015

As reported in “Will California Employers Have to Cough Up Paid Sick Leave?”, the proposed Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (Assembly Bill [AB] 1522) was the California Legislature’s third – and now successful – attempt to provide such benefits. Governor Brown signed that measure into law on September 10, making California and Connecticut the only two states to require businesses to provide paid sick leave.

Starting in July 2015, all California employers, regardless of size (and except for those with collective bargaining agreements and other very limited exemptions), will generally need to provide paid sick leave to any temporary, part-time and full-time employee who has worked in California for 30 days, at an accrual rate of at least one paid hour for every 30 hours worked. An employee would be entitled to use accrued sick days beginning on the 90th day of employment.

Accrued paid sick days shall carry over to the following year of employment. However, an employer may limit an employee’s use of paid sick days to 24 hours (or three days) in each year of employment.

Employees will be allowed to use paid sick time for their own or a family member’s preventative care (dental cleaning, physical etc.), as well as for treatment and care of an existing health condition. “Family member” includes children (of any age), parents, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild and sibling. Employers shall not require employees to search for or find a replacement worker to cover the shifts during which the employee uses paid sick leave.

Employers must also modify their record-keeping, itemized wage statements, employee notices, and posters to satisfy the new law. After the California Labor Commissioner’s office publishes its upcoming frequently-answered questions on the new law, we will issue an updated blog with more information.

For assistance creating complete and comprehensive workplace policies, contact one of our attorneys Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

September 25, 2014