Some states, like California, requiremandatory paid sick leave. The majority of California’s employers must offer paid sick leave to their employees. So, what is the California sick leave law?
What is the California paid sick leave law?
Paidsick leaveis paid time off given to employees for health-related reasons. Through paid sick leave, an employer pays the employee for time off of work to recover from an illness, injury, or disability. Although many states do not require paid sick leave, California has a mandatory paid sick leave law.
California’sHealthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014requires most California employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees. California employers who must provide paid sick leave must follow rules set by the state. As an employer, you are responsible for providing eligible employees with paid sick leave and keeping records of it.
California paid sick leave may be separate from any otherpaid time off(PTO) you offer and is not a part of theFamily and Medical Leave Act(FMLA).
What does California’s paid sick leave cover?
Employees can use paid sick time for themselves or a family member for:
- Preventative care or diagnosis of an illness
- Care or treatment for an existing health condition
- Recovery from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
Under California’s paid sick leave law, family members include parents, children, spouses, registered domestic partners, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings.
California paid sick leave does not cover leave for travel, relocation, or personal time that is not health-related.
Who must offer paid sick leave: California?
Again, the majority of employers in California must offer paid sick leave. However, there are a few exceptions, including:
- Employers who have a collective bargaining agreement
- Providers of in-home supportive services
- Certain air carrier companies
Which employees are covered?
You must provide paid sick leave to all employees, including:
Bothexempt and nonexemptemployees are eligible for paid sick leave.
Employees working for a government entity who are retired and receive annuities are not covered under California paid sick leave.
Coverage and accrual rules
To be eligible for California paid sick leave, employees must work at least 30 days for the same employer in a 12-month period. Employees can begin taking paid sick leave after working for an employer for 90 days. The accrual begins on the employee’s hire date.
雇主可以将最大应计限额设置为每年48小时，并在每年24小时（或三天）处设置限制。
If you rehire an employee within one year, the employee must receive any accrued paid sick leave they had before leaving. If you paid the employee for their accrued paid sick leave at the end of their employment, the employee is subject to the paid sick leave law upon their rehire date.
Providing sick pay: California
The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act has specific requirements for how much employers must pay employees for paid sick leave. Employers must pay nonexempt employees taking paid sick leave at the same rate of pay as if they were working. There are two options for paying nonexempt employees sick leave:
- Use the regular, non-overtime rate for the nonexempt employee. Calculate this rate by dividing the total non-overtime wages by the total of non-overtime hours worked.
- Determine the total compensation over a 90-day period, excluding anyovertime pay. Divide the total compensation by the number of non-overtime hours worked.
您的豁免员工必须与您支付其他类型的带薪休假（例如假期或PTO）相同的付款方式。如果员工使用加利福尼亚带薪病假，您将无法降低工资率。
Employer obligations
The California paid sick leave law requires that employers doallof the following:
- Provide a written notice of paid sick leave availability upon hiring new employees
- Display available sick leave balances on employee’s pay stubs or provide separate documentation along with an employee’s paycheck
- Give theNotice to Employeeto all employees
- 发布带薪病假poster where employees can easily see and read it
- Keep records of all paid sick leave paid to employees and the amount of time each employee uses for at least three years. Track this time separately from other types of leave you offer to employees
Also, employers may not discipline employees who use their accrued paid sick leave.
Calculating California paid sick leave
California gives employers two options for calculating paid sick leave for employees:
- Time accrual
- Lump sum
Both of these options apply to the state law and may differ based on the local laws for your business.
Accrual
With accrual, employees earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Generally, you must provide at least 24 hours or three days of paid sick leave to your employees per year.
Other accrual methods are acceptable as long as they comply with the law. Employees must accrue paid sick leave on a regular basis (e.g., monthly).
Lump sum
一次性病假了employees all at once for them to use as soon as they qualify. This is also known as front-loading.
With the lump sum method, provide your eligible employees with 24 hours or three days of paid sick leave at the beginning of the period (e.g., January 1). Do not use the accrual method if you provide paid sick leave in a lump sum at the beginning of the period.
What happens to unused accrued sick leave?
那么，如果您的员工在此期末不使用病假，会发生什么？好吧，您必须允许员工每年经历未使用的应计病假。但是，如果员工随着时间的推移携带，雇主可以将其应计的带薪病假限制为48小时。
For example, your employee has 72 hours of accrued paid sick leave and wants to carry over their hours to next year. By law, you can set a limit of 48 hours (or six days) of paid sick leave and that is the maximum amount your employee can carry over to the next year.
Grandfathered policies
If you have a sick leave policy prior to January 1, 2015 thathas notchanged, you may continue to use the policy if:
- Employees accrue at least one day or eight hours of paid sick leave or paid time off within three months of employment each year
- Your employees earn at least three days or 24 hours of paid sick leave or paid time off within nine months of the start of their employment
If your policyhaschanged since January 1, 2015 or does not meet the above requirements, you must follow the California paid sick leave law.
City ordinances that differ from state law
Certain cities in California have laws that differ from the California sick leave law. You must comply with both state and local laws when offering sick leave to your employees. Localities with their own paid sick leave laws include:
- 洛杉矶
- Oakland
- San Diego
- 旧金山
- 圣莫妮卡
Some localities have different obligations for employers depending on the size of their business. For example, San Francisco requires that small businesses provide 40 hours of paid sick leave to employees, and all other businesses must offer 80 hours.
Paid sick leave vs. SDI
California paid sick leave under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act is different from the leave available through the CaliforniaState Disability Insurance、SDI计划。员工基金SDI计划by paying into a state tax each paycheck. Employers provide and pay California paid sick leave.
SDI is available for employees needing short-term disability or paid family leave (PFL). Employees must apply for SDI benefits through the state.
Employees may use SDI if they are unable to work due to non-work-related injury, pregnancy, or childbirth. They may use PFL to care for seriously ill family members or bond with a new child. Employees can also use SDI for reasons related to a family member’s military deployment.
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This article has been updated from its original publication date of July 7, 2015.
This is not intended as legal advice; for more information, please点击这里。