Senate Bill 616which was signed into law by Governor Newsom this month, amends existing law regarding paid sick leave for California employees.
The essentials:
As of January 1, 2024 –
- The number of paid sick days per year will be increased to 40 hours or 5 days, whichever is greater (instead of 24 hours or 3 days).
- Employers may limit an employee’s use of paid sick leave to 40 hours or 5 days per year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period (instead of 24 hours or 3 days).
- Employers can cap the carryover of paid sick leave at 80 hours or 10 days, whichever is greater (instead of 48 hours or 6 days). The carryover requirement and accrual requirements are satisfied if the 40 hours or 5 days of paid sick leave are granted to the employee at the beginning of each employment year, calendar year, or 12-month period.
- The accumulation remains the same at the rate of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
- Employers may use a different accrual method, provided the accrual occurs on a regular basis, such that an employee has at least 24 hours or 3 days of paid sick leave by the end of their 120th day civil employment, and at least 40 days. hours or 5 days of paid sick leave at the end of the employee’s 200th calendar day of employment.
- Employees must be able to accumulate 40 hours of paid sick leave before the 200th calendar day of employment or each calendar year, or during each 12-month period.
Employees covered by a collective agreement:
SB 616 extends certain provisions of California’s paid sick leave law to covered employees outside the construction industry. As amended, California Labor Code Section 246.5 will require employers to allow non-industrial construction employees who are subject to a collective bargaining agreement and who are otherwise exempt from California’s paid sick leave law to use paid sick leave for the “diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition or preventive care for an employee or family member” and, for certain purposes, for an employee who is a victim of domestic violence , sexual assault or criminal harassment. Employers also cannot require a contracted employee who uses sick days to find or find a replacement worker for those days. The expansion of these provisions also gives employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement the right to a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if an employer takes adverse action within thirty days of certain protected activities.
Counties or cities with more generous paid sick leave requirements:
Most California employers are painfully aware that they must comply with all applicable state, federal, and local laws. Employers should therefore ensure that any established paid sick leave policy complies with local requirements. Oakland, San Francico, Berkely, Santa Monica, Emeryville, Los Angeles and San Diego have all adopted paid sick leave ordinances. For example, Los Angeles City Ordinance Section 187.04 requires city employers to provide up to 48 hours of sick leave per year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period and caps the carryover of sick leave. accumulation at 72 hours. Because the 48-hour minimum is more generous than the SB 616 state minimum (40 hours or 5 days), Los Angeles employers must continue to comply with local law. However, as the local carryover accumulation cap of 72 hours is less than the new state minimum (80 hours), employers should adhere to the state standard of capping paid sick leave accrual at 80 hours or 10 days, whichever is greater. Although these local laws have not yet changed, employers should keep in mind that revisions may be enacted in light of the enactment of SB 616.
