As an employer, it’s important to know the ins and outs of California Paid Sick Leave to stay in compliance with the law. Small to medium-sized businesses will have generally the same requirements as a large company, however, it’s still important to know how these laws apply directly and specifically to your business. Here are the important details to know about California Paid Sick Leave:
For direct access to the legislative texts of AB-555 visit: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB555
Who It Applies To
This law requires employers, large or small, to provide an employee that works for them in California for 30 or more days, paid sick leave that is accrued at a rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. Employers may also satisfy accrual methods by providing at least 3 days, or 24 hours, of paid sick leave by the employees 120th day working for their company. In-home supportive caretakers may receive up to 3 days, or 24 hours, of accrued, paid sick leave once minimum wage reaches $15 per hour.
Who It Does Not Apply To
AB-555 does not apply to workers who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides wages, hours of work, and working conditions, paid sick leave, and paid time off. For instance, this includes employees of the construction industry who are under a collective bargaining agreement. Employers with employees covered under Title II of the Railway Labor Act also do not follow the specifications of AB-555, however, they are required to provide employees with compensated time off. Employees of the state do not apply to AB-555 as well.
What This Means As An Employer
If you are an employer in California with employees that do not fall under any of the specifications that make AB-55 non-applicable, you will need to keep track and log accrued paid sick leave hours of all employees, especially those working for you longer than 90 days, at a rate of 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
The purposes under which an employer must provide paid sick leave at the request of an employee include:
- Diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of the employee or employees family member
- Employees that are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
- The closure of an employee’s place of business for public health emergencies or an employee who is providing care to a child whose school and childcare facility is closed because of a public health emergency
- Conditions relating to an employee’s donation of bone marrow or organ donation to another person
As an employer, you cannot deny any of your employees the use of accrued paid sick leave, and cannot require the employee to find someone to cover a shift. You also cannot require an employee to provide documentation of the use of the paid sick leave hours, as that is required to be documented by the employer. Employers must keep documentation of hours worked and sick days accrued for at least three years.
Do you have more questions about the California Paid Sick Leave (AB-555) and how it affects your business? RTR Consulting has more than 20 years devoted to developing effective and efficient human resources policies, procedures, and best practices for small, start-ups, and medium-sized businesses. Contact us today to talk to a professional.