The State of California recently passed a new COVID-19Supplemental Paid Sick Leave law, Labor Code Section 248.2, which requires companies with 26 or more employees to provide paid sick leave to employees for COVID related reasons. The law covers the time period form January 21, 2021through September 21, 2021. While the law was signed after January 1, 2021,employees may request a “retroactive” payment for time missed prior to the signing of the law.
Employees are covered by the new law if they are unable to work or telework due to the following reasons:
- Caring for Yourself: The covered employee is subject to quarantine or isolation period, has been advised by a healthcare provider to quarantine, or is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis
- Caring for a Family Member: The covered employee is caring for a family member who is either subject to a quarantine or isolation period, has been advised by a healthcare provider to quarantine, or the employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed or unavailable due to COVID-19 on the premises.
- Vaccine-Related: The covered employee is attending a vaccine appointment or cannot work ot telework due tovaccine-related side effects
Other pertinent facts about the new 2021 COVID-19Supplemental Paid Sick Leave law:
- Employees that are considered full-time or who worked or was scheduled to work an average of at least 40 hours per week in the two weeks before the leave is taken is entitled to 80 hours of COVID-19Supplemental Paid Sick Leave.
- The law limits the amount paid to the maximum of$511 per day of $5,110 in total.
- The formula to determine how much to pay part-time employees who have worked more than 14 days is based on the number of hours worked over a 6 month period divided by the number of days, not work-days, in that 6 month period, times 14. If the part-time employee has been employed less than 14 days, the actual amount of hours worked during that time, divided by .5 and then multiplied by 14.
- An employer has to make the 2021 COVID-19Supplemental Paid Sick Leave available to an employee immediately upon oral or written request by the employee to the employer.
- The 2021 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave does not apply to independent contractors. However, any worker who has been misclassified as an independent contractor but is in fact and employee, is entitled to coverage under this new law.
For more information, please go to this link. https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/COVID19Resources/FAQ-for-SPSL-2021.html
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