HR Headliner: California Increases Paid Sick Leave Requirements

October 2023

California Increases Paid Sick Leave Requirements

Last month, we let you know about Senate Bill 616, which was pending Governor Newsom’s signature to increase the amount of state-mandated paid sick leave from 3 days to 5 days. We didn’t have to wait long for the final outcome… the Governor signed the bill into law on October 4, 2023. Effective January 2024, all employees who work in California for 30 or more days will be entitled to at least 5 days or 40 hours of paid sick leave annually.

Most of our existing rules for paid sick leave remain the same, including the qualifying reasons for using sick leave, defined family members, and employee protection from retaliation. Your company’s approach to the increased amount of annual leave will depend on the method by which you provide sick leave to your staff.

Annual Front-Load

If you award paid sick leave as a one-time front load each year, you will need to increase the annual amount to 5 days or 40 hours. Remember that we interpret this requirement to be most generous to the employee, so even a part-timer who works 4-hour days must receive 40 hours of sick leave per year. An employee who normally works 10-hour days must receive 50 hours (5 days).

An interesting part of the revised law states that new employees must have at least 24 hours or 3 days available to use by the completion of the employee’s 120th calendar day of employment, and at least 40 hours or 5 days by the 200th day of employment. This means an employer could write its paid sick leave policy to provide just 24 hours of sick leave to new employees who are hired in the last 4 months of the year, or stagger the sick leave award (24 hours upon hire and an additional 16 hours within 6 months).

Unused sick leave may still expire at the end of each year, and current employees must receive no less than 40 hours or 5 days at the start of the new year.

Accrual: One Hour of PSL for Every 30 Hours Worked

If your employees accrue paid sick leave at this rate, which is the default method described in the law, you may continue to do so. Unused sick leave must carry over from one year to the next, and employees must now be permitted to accrue up to 80 hours or 10 days of paid sick leave. You may limit the annual usage to 40 hours or 5 days per year.

Accrual: Other Accrual Methods/Rates

If your employees accrue PSL at a different rate, such as a certain amount per pay period or per month, you may need to adjust your policy. Employers must ensure that employees accrue at least 24 hours by the 120^th day of the year, and at least 40 hours by the 200^th day of the year. As stated above, unused sick leave must carry over from one year to the next, and employees must now be permitted to accrue up to 80 hours or 10 days of paid sick leave. You may limit the annual usage to 40 hours or 5 days per year.

Cities/Counties with Special Sick Leave Ordinances

If your company is located in a municipality with its own paid sick leave law, such as Los Angeles or San Francisco, the local rules will still apply, provided they are at least as generous as the new state law.