Yesterday, Sept. 10, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the “Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014.” Effective July 1, 2015, the Act imposes requirements upon employers in California very similar to those enacted in other jurisdictions (such as New York City) with respect to paid sick leave.1 The Act establishes minimum requirements and does not preempt, limit or otherwise affect more generous laws and regulations. While many employers have policies that provide more generous paid sick leave to their employees, the new California law imposes some additional requirements that will force employers to modify their policies (and perhaps mesh them with local law, such as San Francisco’s paid sick leave requirements), provide additional notices, and update their record keeping practices or be subject to steep penalties.
Employees May Earn Up to 24 Hours of Paid Sick Leave Per Year The Healthy Workplaces Act gives employees the right to earn paid sick days, which accrue at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked and are paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay (subject to certain calculations for varying pay rates, commission or piece - rate workers, and nonexempt salaried employees). Full - and part-time employees (including short - term workers) are eligible to accrue paid sick leave based on the number of hours worked. For accrual purposes, exempt employees are presumed to work a 40 - hour workweek; however, if the exempt employee’s normal workweek is few er than 40 hours, paid sick leave will accrue based on the employee’s normal workweek. Note that the law appears to apply to non - California residents, expanding entitlement to paid sick leave to an employee “who, on or after July 1, 2015, works in California for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of employment.” The Act does not require that an employer provide additional paid sick leave if the employer’s PTO, vacation or other paid time off policies already provide paid time off that can b e used for the purposes permitted by and under the same conditions provided by the Act, provided that the employer’s policy (i) satisfies the accrual, carryover and use requirements of the Act, OR (ii) provides no less than 24 hours or three days of paid sick leave or equivalent PTO for employee use per calendar year, 12 - month basis, or year of employment. Employers may opt to advance sick days to employees with “proper documentation.” Accrued sick leave carries over from year to year, although an employer can set a maximum accrual of 48 hours or six days. Carryover is not required, however, if the employer provides eligible employees with the full annual amount of PTO or similar leave at the beginning of each year.
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