Advocacy

California Enacts Law to Require Employers to Provide Paid Sick Leave

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

California has joined the state of Connecticut and at least 13 major cities nationwide in enacting legislation to require employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees. Starting July 1, 2015, employees who have worked in the state for at least 30 days must be provided one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Nevertheless, under the new law, employers can limit the amount of paid sick leave an employee may take within a year to 24 hours (three days). 

The employee must be permitted to begin using the accrued sick leave at least 90 days from hire. The law covers most employees in California, but excludes employees organized under a valid collective bargaining agreement that contains certain provisions, home health care providers and flight attendants that receive a certain amount of compensated time off. Employers with employees based in California should review their sick leave policies and amend as necessary to ensure they comply with the new law by next July. 

For details, contact Ashley Ailsworth at ashelya@sema.org.