Paid Sick Days in California.
California Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act(Cal. Lab. Code § 245 et seq.)
Subject to a few exceptions, in California, employers must provide all employees with 24 hours (or 3 days) of paid sick leave (PSL) benefits that may be used in a 12-month period, for their own or a family member’s medical condition or victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking who need to get services (such as counseling).
Which employers must follow this law?
All employers regardless of size.
When can I use Paid Sick Leave (PSL)?
Your Own Medical Need: PSL may be used for the diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition, or preventive care of the employee.
The Medical Need of Your Family Member: PSL may be used for the diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition, or preventive care of your family member.
What family members?
children (biological, adopted, foster child, stepchild, legal word, child to home you stand in loco parentis)
parents (biological, adoptive, foster parent, stepparent, your or your spouse or domestic partner’s legal guardian, or a person who stood in loco parentis when you were a minor child)
siblings
grandparents
grandchildren
spouse or registered domestic partner
Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking:
If you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, you may use PSL to seek legal relief, or other services (such as counseling).
Am I an eligible employee?
Eligible employees
You are eligible for PSL if you were employed for your employer for 30 days or more within 1 year from the start of your employment. (These do not have to be consecutive days).
This includes temporary, per diem, part-time, full-time, exempt and nonexempt employees.
Non-eligible employees
Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that already includes certain specific provisions.
Construction industry employees (if you perform work associated with construction, including alteration, demolition, building, excavation, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, improvement, repair work, or other work as described here and other similar or related occupations or trades) covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that already includes certain specific provisions.
Airline flight deck or cabin crew employees if your employer provides you with compensated time off at least equivalent to the requirements of the new law
Public-sector employees receiving a retirement allowance In-home support services employees → There are special provisions of paid sick leave for these employees.
What is the pay rate?
The rate of pay can be calculated in the following ways:
For nonexempt employees: (1) your regular rate of pay or (2) your total wages divided by the total hours you worked in a 90-day period.
For exempt employees: (1) your rate of pay for other forms of paid leave your employer calculates
How much PSL am I entitled to take?
In general, the law requires your employer to provide you at least 24 hours (or 3 days) of PSL per year.
Is my employer required to provide me all 3 days at once?
It can, but it doesn't have to. If it doesn't provide them up front, you accrue 1 hour of PSL for every 30 hours you worked. This starts accruing on your 1st day of employment.
If your normal workweek is less than 40 hours, then you will accrue paid sick days based on that normal workweek.
What if I am an administrative, executive or professional who works more or less than 40 hours each week?
If you are exempt from overtime requirements because you are an administrative, executive, or professional employee under a wage order (see Appendix A), then you are deemed to work 40 hours per workweek.
Can my employer implement a different accrual method?
Yes, but the accrual must be on a regular basis and you must have at least 24 hours of accrued paid sick leave available by the 120th day of employment.
Can I use PSL right away?
You may use accrued paid sick days starting on the 90th day of your employment.
Can my employer limit the amount of PSL that I can accrue?
Yes, your employer can cap it when it reaches 48 hours (or 6 days).
Can my employer limit the amount of PSL I can use?
Yes, your employer can limit the amount of leave you can use to 24 hours or 3 days in each year of your employment, in a calendar year, or in any 12-month period.
Does unused accrued PSL carry over from year-to-year?
Yes, unused accrued paid sick leave carries over year to year.
However, subject to specified conditions, if your employer already has a paid sick leave, paid leave or paid time off (PTO) policy that provides at least 24 hours(or 3 days) of paid leave or paid time off, and you receive the full amount of leave at the beginning of each year, then no accrual or carry over is required.
Requesting Paid Sick Leave
When do I tell my employer I need this leave?
Foreseeable leave: If your leave is foreseeable, you must provide your employer with reasonable advance notice of your need for leave. That is, you must tell your employer within a reasonable amount of time when you learn you will need to take this leave.
Unforeseeable leave: If the need is unforeseeable, the employee must provide notice as soon as practicable. This means, you must tell your employer as soon as you’re able to communicate this.
How do I request paid sick leave?
The law requires your employer to provide you with paid sick leave upon either oral or written request.
Can my employer require a doctor’s note?
The statute does not address this. While it’s silent on this issue, it does require employers to provide an employee with paid sick days upon oral or written request (Labor Code section 246.5(a)) and allows an employee to determine how much paid sick leave he or she needs to use (Labor Code section 246(j)). The Paid Sick Leave law also points out that employers cannot deny an employee the right to use AB 1522 covered paid sick leave or retaliate against an employee for using such covered paid sick leave. The Labor Commissioner has indicated in presentations on the Paid Sick Leave Law that an employer's insistence on verification of AB 1522 sick leave through the use of a doctor's note could be deemed to be a denial of the use of such covered paid sick leave and therefore be unlawful. The only exception to this appears to be for the use of paid sick leave for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking as the Paid Sick Leave law references Labor Code sections 230 and 230.1, which do allow an employer to request certification for unscheduled absences.
Using it and What You Need to Do.
If I need just a couple of hours to attend a medical appointment, do I need to take a full day of paid sick leave?
No. You determine how much leave you need to use. However, your employer can set a reasonable minimum increment. If your employer does set a minimum amount of time you will need to take if you need this leave, it cannot be over 2 hours.
Can my employer require me to search for or find a replacement worker while I am out?
No.
Protections
What do I need to know about protections the law provides to me?
Protection from Retaliation/Discrimination and Denial of Your Right to PSL
Your employer cannot deny you your right to use PSL.
Your employer cannot discriminate against you, including terminating, demoting, suspending, you any of the following reasons:
Using or attempting to use PSL
Filing a complaint with the Labor Commissioner’s Office
Alleging a violation of the PSL
Cooperating in an investigation or prosecution of an alleged violation of the PSL, found here.
Oppose a policy or practice prohibited by the PSL law.
There is a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if your employer acts in a manner described above within 30 days of your request for leave or other qualifying reason listed above (i.e. a protected activity).
If I separate from employment, is my employer required to pay me for any accrued unused paid sick days?
If you separate from employment (eg. terminate, retire, resign), your employer does not need to pay you for any accrued, unused paid sick days.
However, if you separated from employment with your employer and were later rehired within one year, your previously accrued and unused PSL must be reinstated. This can be used immediately upon your rehire. This can be used immediately upon your rehire.
Of course, if your previously accrued and unused paid time off was paid out to when you separated from employment with your employer, your employer does not need to reinstate any PSL if it rehires you.
Seasonal workers: If you separated from employment with your employer and were later rehired within one year, your previously accrued and unused PSL must be reinstated. For example, if you only worked 60 days one year, but return to the same employer within one year and work another 60 days, your previously accrued and unused sick leave will be restored to you.
Related Kin Care Law (California Labor Code § 233 et seq.)
If your employer provides sick leave (whether pursuant to this law or not), it must permit you to use a minimum of one-half of any available sick leave per year for the same purposes as specified in the paid sick leave law (described above).
If your employer has an absence control policy, your employer is prohibited from counting sick leave you take pursuant to the Kin Care law as an absence that may lead to or result in discipline, discharge, demotion or suspension. (Cal. Labor Code § 234).
DISCLAIMER: this information is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice or seek to be the complete and comprehensive statement of the law, nor is it intended to address your specific requirements or provide advice on which reliance should be placed.