Summary: On October 4, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newson signed into law a bill expanding California’s paid sick leave law (CA PSL), effective January 1, 2024. Employers will be required to provide California employees with 40 hours, or five days, of CA PSL in 2024, an increase from the current requirement of 24 hours, or 3 days.
Read on for more information.
CA PSL Background
As a refresher, California’s paid sick leave law (CA PSL), signed into law as the “Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014”, first became effective in 2015.
Current Accrual & Usage Limits: CA PSL provides paid sick leave time to employees working in California[1], earning one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers may use an alternative accrual method providing at least 24 hours of CA PSL time by the 120th calendar day of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period.
Employers may currently limit the use of CA PSL to 24 hours, or three days, in each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period. Employees may begin using accrued CA PSL on the 90th day of employment.
Qualifying Reasons: CA PSL can be used for an employee’s own or a family member’s[2] existing health condition or preventive care (including diagnosis, care, or treatment) or for specified purposes for an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Employers are prohibited from requiring an employee to find a replacement as a condition for using CA PSL time.
Required Posting & Notice: Employers must display a CA PSL poster in a prominent place for employees to read, provide a written notice of CA PSL rights upon hire, and provide the number of available CA PSL days on an employee’s pay stub or other pay-related document.
Carryover & Frontloading: Currently, accrued and unused CA PSL may be carried over to the next year, but may be capped at 48 hours, or six days. Employers may also currently frontload the full amount of CA PSL (24 hours or three days) at the beginning of each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period.
Termination: Employers are not required to pay out accrued, unused CA PSL time upon termination from employment. However, if an employee is rehired by the employer within one year of termination, previously accrued and used CA PSL time must be reinstated.[3]
CA PSL Updates for 2024
In accordance with the newly signed California bill, the following CA PSL requirements are updated for January 1, 2024, as reflected in the comparison table below:
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CA PSL Item
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Current until December 31, 2023
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Effective January 1, 2024
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Accrual limits (or caps) for use each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period
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24 hours or 3 days
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40 hours or 5 days
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Frontloading option at the beginning of each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period
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24 hours or 3 days
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40 hours or 5 days
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Alternative accrual method option for each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period
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At least 24 hours of CA PSL by an employee’s 120th calendar day of employment
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At least 24 hours of CA PSL by an employee’s 120th calendar day of employment AND at least 40 hours of CA PSL by their 200th calendar day of employment
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Carryover accrual limits (or caps)[4]
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48 hours or 6 days
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80 hours or 10 days
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NEW! Collective Bargaining Agreements: Effective January 1, 2024, employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) must be permitted to use CA PSL time for qualifying reasons, cannot be required to find a replacement worker when taking CA PSL time, and are protected under the CA PSL anti-retaliation provisions. These CBA employees are currently not covered under CA PSL.
Local Paid Sick Leave Ordinances: These CA PSL updates for 2024 expressly preempt any local paid sick leave ordinance inconsistent with the revised requirements detailed in the table above. This means that employers will need to consult with their employment and labor law counsel to determine if any applicable local paid sick leave ordinances conflict with these new CA PSL updates for 2024.
Employer Next Steps
As the January 1, 2024 effective date for the CA PSL updates approaches, employers with California employees are advised to:
- Consult with their employment and labor law counsel to revise existing written CA PSL leave policies and practices, as well as employee handbooks, as appropriate.
- Train Human Resources team members, as well as managers and supervisors, on these CA PSL updates.
- Monitor the CA PSL webpage for additional resources and guidance in light of these CA PSL updates for 2024, including an updated CA PSL poster.
Risk Strategies is here to help. Contact us directly with any questions at benefits@risk-strategies.com.
[1] Employees, including part-time and temporary employees, working in California for 30 or more days are entitled to CA PSL time.
[2] CA PSL law defines “family member” as an employee’s child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or a designated person identified by the employee at the time the employee requests CA PSL time. An employer may limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for CA PSL.
[3] Unless the CA PSL time was previously paid out to the employee upon their termination from employment.
[4] As soon as employees use CA PSL time that results in them falling below the accrual limit, they will begin to accrue CA PSL again up to the limit.
