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10 Common Questions About California’s New Paid Sick Policy
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Want to know how the new paid sick day policy will affect your business?
Q&A with Will Moore, The Moore Firm
What is the New Paid Sick Policy in California?
California recently passed the Healthy Workplace/Healthy Families Act of 2014, or AB 1522, which includes important measures on paid sick leave.
As of July 1, 2015, anybody who you employ for more than 30 days (part-time or full-time) is entitled to sick leave.
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Are Small Businesses Exempt?
Unlike a lot of employment regulations, you, dear entrepreneur, are probably not exempt.
There are no exemptions available to small businesses, making California the first state to require practically all private sector employers to provide paid sick leave.
Read more about “3 days paid sick leave” here.
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How Much Do Sick Days Carry Over From Year to Year?
You, as the employer have two options:1. You can set a policy where nobody can take more
than three days or 24 hours of sick leave per year, and give them all of that leave at the beginning of the year.
2. Or you can choose not to impose a particular cap, in that case, the max ends up being about twice that – 6 days or 48 hours. Either way, when an employee leaves, you don’t have to pay out the paid sick leave hours the way you would pay out vacation hours.
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What If You Mess Up?
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An employer who fails to give an employee their entitled sick leave, or threatens or commits any retaliatory action because of it, may be liable to damages of $250 to $4,000, in addition to reinstatement of the employee, back pay, withheld sick payment, and/or reimbursement of legal fees.
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How Much Notice Does a Sick Employee Have to Give?
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Employees must give “reasonable advance notice” in foreseeable cases and notice “as soon practicable” in those that are unforeseeable.
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What’s The Smallest Sick Day?
The amount of sick pay used is left to the discretion of the employee, though their employer can set up to a two-hour minimum.
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Do Employees Have to Prove They’re Really Sick?
Not really. While the legislation itself makes no reference to an employer’s right to verify illness, the Department of Industrial Relations’ “Facts and Resources” page on the law asserts an employee’s right to file a claim against any employers who “deny sick leave due to a failure to provide details.” This at least implies that demanding a doctor’s note for paid leave is grounds for legal action.
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The End of “Can You Cover My Shift?”
The employer cannotrequire an employee requesting sick leave to find or even search for an employee to cover their shift. This creates a management problem – you need a backup plan for every shift.
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How Do Other Businesses Make This Work?
We asked some of The Moore Firm’s clients how they cope with the practicalities of getting shifts filled. Successful techniques included:• Create backup roster• Request employees to request a sick day by
telephone, instead of texting or emailing.
Learn more here.
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How Can PTO Fix Everything?
The one very simple alternative way around all of this –the Paid Time Off policy.
A PTO policy that doesn’t differentiate between sick, vacation and personal days carries several benefits, as it doesn’t encourage employees to use every saved sick day (or lie when they need a day off), is much simpler and more flexible to administer, and can boost morale by providing a stress-free option for employees to take time off as they feel necessary.
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Have Questions?
If you have questions about any aspect of the law, or other compliance or regulatory issues your business faces, call us at The Moore Firm. We are here to Solve Business Problems.
Call (858) 888 - 5570
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