Paid sick leave is a hot topic on both the state and city level. Currently a bill regarding paid sick leave, titled The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, sits on California’s Governor Brown’s desk for signing. Should he sign the bill before the legislative session ends it will be effective July 1, 2015.
Under the Act, California employers will be required to provide employees paid sick leave for prescribed purposes, to be accrued at a rate of no less than one (1) hour for every 30 hours worked. There are a few exceptions to the definition of employee which include employees covered by collective bargaining agreements, employees in the construction industry covered by collective bargaining agreements, individuals employed by an air carrier as flight deck or cabin crew and providers of in-home supportive services. Employers will be authorized to limit an employee’s use of paid sick days to 24 hours or 3 days in each year of employment. Additionally, it will be illegal for an employer to discriminate or retaliate against an employee who requests paid sick days. Finally, employers will be required to post notice in the workplace for employees to view. Willful violation of the posting requirement will subject an employer to a civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) per each violation.
Compliance Poster Company’s HR Research and Compliance Team is following developments regarding this bill very closely. Stay tuned Governor Brown only has until 9/30/2014 to sign or veto bills. A full California 2014 Legislative Report will be posted here once the session is complete.