Effective January 1, 2024, Senate Bill 616 expands the employer-provided paid sick leave benefits under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (Act) from 24 hours or three days to 40 hours or five days.

The Labor Commissioner has issued updated FAQs, including how to properly transition an existing paid sick leave policy.

FAQ No. 15 explains:

“If an employer uses an accrual method and capped an employee’s yearly use of leave at 3 days or 24 hours, what must an employer do to comply with the law on January 1, 2024?
“If an employer uses an annual start date other than January 1 and implements a 12‑month use cap, that cap must change to 40 hours or 5 days on January 1, 2024. For example, if an employer uses the 12-month period of May 1 – April 30 and implements a cap and an employee used 24 hours or three days before January 1, 2024, the employer must allow the employee to use an additional 2 days or 16 hours before April 30 if the employee has accrued that additional leave.”

FAQ No. 16 explains:

“If an employer utilized the “up-front” method prior to January 1, 2024 and provided an employee with 3 days or 24 hours of leave on the employee’s anniversary date during the year, what must an employer do to comply with the law on January 1, 2024?
“The employer has the choice to frontload the two additional days on January 1, 2024 or move the measurement of the yearly period to January 1, 2024 and frontload five days.  For example, if an employee started on May 1, 2021 and the employer used that anniversary date to frontload 3 days or 24 hours on May 1, 2023, the employer may either provide 2 days or 16 hours on January 1, 2024 and keep the May 1 date to frontload or can “reset” the frontload date to January 1, 2024 and provide the employee 5 days or 40 hours then.”

Also, the Labor Commissioner has updated its individualized Notice to Employee and its mandatory Paid Sick Leave Poster to reflect the increased paid sick leave hours.

Take-Aways:

California employers should promptly (i) review all updated FAQs; (ii) coordinate with payroll on the transition; and (iii) use the updated Notice to Employee form and post the updated Paid Sick Leave Poster by January 1, 2024.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

See also:

• What’s New in 2024 – Wage Theft Prevention Notice Updates (December 15, 2023)
• Fritter No More – Workplace Policy Handbook & Forms for 2024 (December 8, 2023)
• Know, Then Go – Annual Seminar for Employers (November 29, 2023)
• What’s New in 2024 – Expanded Paid Sick Leave Requirements – California Employers Must Now Provide 40 hours or Five Days of Sick Pay (October 11, 2023)

Cindy Bamforth
December 28, 2023