The fine print of state’s new sick leave law

The state’s new sick leave law, which was signed last week by Gov. Jerry Brown and takes effect in July, requires almost all public- and privatesector employers to give almost all workers in California at least three paid sick days per year.

Even if you are among the estimated 60 percent of workers who already get paid sick leave, the law raises questions. For example, what happens if your company offers paid time off that combines vacation and sick leave? What if your company offers unlimited vacation? Can you carry over unused sick days to the next year or cash them out when you leave?

Here are answers to these and other questions about AB1522.

Q: How much paid sick leave will I get?

A: Starting July 1, employees will be entitled to at least 24 hours (three days) per year. How soon you get them will depend on whether your employer uses the accrual method or gives them in a lump sum.

Under the accrual method, employees will earn at least one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked. That works out to a little more than eight days a year for someone who works full time. But employers can limit the amount of

paid sick leave you can take in one year to 24 hours (three days).

Q: What happens to the extra sick leave I have earned if my employer caps usage at three days per year?

A: It goes in your sick leave bank. However, employers can stop you from accumulating more paid leave when you have 48 hours (six days) in your bank.

Q: Can I carry over unused sick leave from one year to the next?

A: Under the accrual method, yes. But the employer can still prevent you from using more than three days per year.

Q: Why does the law let me accrue more time than I could use in a year?

A: So if you get sick in the beginning of a year, you might have some days in the bank you can use. However, if you use days carried over from a previous year, they will count toward the current year’s usage limit.

Q: How does the lumpsum option work?

A: Instead of the accrual method, employers can give all employees at least 24 hours (three days) of paid sick leave at the beginning of each year. Under this option, no accrual or carryover is required, according to Evan McLaughlin, a spokesman for the bill’s author, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego.

These workers cannot carry over unused sick pay, but they will get at least three new sick days the next year.

Q: If I leave my job,

can I cash out my unused sick days, like I can with vacation and paid time off? A: No. But if you leave your job and get rehired by the same employer within 12 months, you can reclaim what you had in the bank.

Q: How much will I get paid?

A: At your regular hourly rate. If your pay fluctuates — for example, if you get a commission or piece rate — your employer will divide your total compensation for the previous 90 days by the number of hours worked and pay you that rate.

Q: How will I know how much I have accrued?

A: Employers must show, on your pay stub or a document issued the same day as your paycheck, how many days of sick leave you have available. “This will require some retooling,” because employers previously did not have to provide this information on pay stubs, says Felicia Reid, an attorney with Hirschfeld Kraemer.

Employers also must keep records showing how many hours you earned and used for three years.

Q: My employer provides paid time off, which I can use for vacation or illness. Will it have to provide

additional sick leave? A: No, as long as it provides at least 24 hours per year of paid leave that can be used for health care and meets other requirements in the law.

Q: My company offers unlimited time off. How does this affect me?

A: Most employers with this new but growing policy do not track how much time employees take off and for what reason. But they might want to consider providing a bank of time employees can use for sick leave and tracking it, says attorney Michelle Barrett Falconer, a shareholder with Littler Mendelson.

Reid says the new law “will be a record-keeping nightmare for employers that offer unlimited vacation.” She recommends that these employers “separately track sick leave.”

Q: What can I use sick leave for?

A: You can take paid leave for you or a family member for preventive care or an existing health condition, or if you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. For partial days, your employer can’t require you to take more than two hours of leave.

Q: What employees are covered by this?

A: Anyone who works more than 30 days in a year in California, including part-time and temporary employees, with several exceptions. Employees of In-Home Supportive Services, a public-sector program, are exempt. Privatesector home health workers are covered. Most employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement are exempt, as are people who work for an air carrier as a flight deck or cabin crew member, if they receive compensated time off.

Q: How does this fit in with San Francisco’s sick leave ordinance?

A: For workers in San Francisco, they will have to comply with both the San Francisco and California laws, which differ in some respects. “San Francisco is more generous in terms of the amount (of sick leave) that might be available in a year. California is more generous with respect to the rehire provision,” Falconer says. For each provision or benefit, the employer will have to provide whichever is more generous to the employee.