California Businesses are now Subject to Mandatory Paid Sick Leave
Employers are just getting hit with large increases with their health insurance premiums because of the mass migration from Grand-Fathered and Grand-Mothered plans to Affordable Health Care Act plans, and now there is another new expense – government mandated paid sick leave.
California employer mandated paid sick leave is another law that is making Californian Company’s flex their muscles and run leaner while trying to keep costs low and productivity high. If you have been following our blogs, you understand that we are a company that strives to help our clients minimize employer strains during these times by offering free Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) and Compliance Portals (all those new legislative rules!), and this law is just another reason why our complimentary systems are more important than ever. To stay on topic:
Mandatory Paid Sick Leave – California Employers need to inform their employees
Part of the legislation that made mandatory paid sick leave also regulates how employers must present these new accommodations. There are two very important dates for notices: January 1st of 2015 and January 8th of 2015. These days have already passed, but for those looking for more information should be aware that on January 1st, the employers are required to inform their employees regarding the paid sick leave by putting up a notice in an area that is in a “well seen” area, similar to your OSHA notices. January 8th required employers to give out written notices to employees (existing and new employees) that cover how the paid sick leave would function at the company.
These requirements for the mandatory paid sick leave were, in essence, only for notification purposes to ensure employees understood this new law was in action and how to go about utilizing the sick days.
Mandatory Paid Sick Leave – Effective July 1st of 2015
Effective July 1st of 2015 your employees will be able to take their paid sick leave as long as they meet the criteria of having 30 work days performed in California under their belt, on or after July 1st. Please refer to California State law for any further information regarding mandatory paid sick leave and its requirements, restrictions, or extensions of “qualified” time.
How many days do I get of Mandatory Paid Sick Leave?
Like vacation hours, mandatory paid sick leave in California can either be gifted upfront at the beginning of the year, or accrued over time. Current law states that getting upfront paid sick leave in California gives the employee 24 hours instantly, however, that is the only time allotted for sick leave that year for that employee. Furthermore, those 24 hours will not be rolled over into next year. An employee that chooses accrual paid sick leave will receive 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours the employee works, eventually capping at 48 hours per year. While these accrual hours do rollover year after year, an employee can only use 24 hours work of paid sick vacation per year (even if you have more than 24, you are limited to 24).
Quick summary
| Method | Obtained by | Useable Hour Cap | Pool Hour Cap | Rollover |
| 24 Hours Instant | Period start | 24 per year | 24 per year | No |
| Accrual | 30 hours worked becomes 1 paid sick leave hour | 24 per year | 48 per year | Yes |
For more information, please consult California State Law
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