By Waleed Zahid, Esq.
Senate Bill 616 (SB 616) made some significant changes to California’s paid sick leave laws. Businesses owners need to take note and comply.
Key Changes
Employees are now entitled to additional sick leave. Effective January 1, 2024, employees must receive at least 40 hours or five days of paid sick leave per year, whichever is greater. This is a substantial increase from the previous requirement of 24 hours of sick leave.
SB 616 also harmonizes state and local paid sick leave laws. Prior to its enactment, many local sick leave regimes provided greater rights than the state law. While employers must adhere to both, state law now takes precedence in specific areas such as lending of paid sick leave, paystub statements, and calculation methods.
Who is Eligible for Paid Sick Leave?
Generally, any California employee who has worked for the same employer for at least 30 days within a year in California, is eligible for paid sick leave after 90 days. While there are some exemptions for employees in the construction industry (and who are covered by qualifying collective bargaining agreements) they are still entitled to some paid sick leave. The law is nuanced as it relates to employees in bargaining units.
How to Provide Paid Sick Leave
Employers have two main options for providing paid sick leave:
- Accrual Method: Sick leave accrues gradually based on the number of hours worked by the employee.
- Upfront Method: Employers can provide the full amount of leave at the beginning of the year.
Regardless of the method chosen, employers must ensure that employees have accrued at least 24 hours of sick leave by their 120th day of employment and 40 hours by their 200th day. Employers must also provide employees with written notice of their sick leave rights.
Caps and Record-Keeping
Employers are allowed to cap the accrual of sick leave at 80 hours (or 10 days) but may still limit its usage to 40 hours (or five days) per year. Remember that these are caps, not requirements, and employers can always offer more generous sick leave benefits.
Additionally, it’s vital for employers to keep accurate records of employee hours worked and sick leave accrued and used. This will help ensure compliance and avoid any legal issues.
Understanding and complying with California’s updated paid sick leave laws under SB 616 is not easy. But all business owners need to have an understanding and comply in order to avoid risk of related claims and legal problems.
Waleed Zahid is an attorney with Dunn DeSantis Walt & Kendrick. Waleed’s practice is in civil litigation with a focus on representation of businesses and business owners, particularly in employment law.
Dunn DeSantis Walt & Kendrick provides a broad spectrum of legal services to businesses of all sizes, from small, local start-ups and non-profits to large, national companies. DDWK’s real estate development and construction practice includes representing all segments of the development and construction industries on both private and public projects.
You can find additional information and resources related to helping business owners and their businesses on the DDWK website.
