Millions to get more sick leave under new law

Millions of California workers whose health and lives have been impacted by the pandemic could again see their emergency sick time expanded this year after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law late Friday requiring many companies to give them emergency leave.

SB95, sponsored by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, DBerkeley, passed the Senate 298 Thursday and required employers with more than 25 workers to create a separate pool of sick days for workers, retroactive to the beginning of the year.

Companies will receive payroll tax breaks for providing two weeks of paid sick leave, although those may not cover some time taken since January.

The law significantly expands the companies that would be required to provide the leave. A state law passed last year that expired in December required companies with more than 500 employees in the U.S. to provide the leave. Companies with more than 500 employees who provided that leave last year will be required to do so again. The law takes effect 10 days after it was signed.

“SB95 provides COVID19 supplemental paid sick leave to more than 10.4 million California workers through Sept. 30 of this year.” Skinner said in an emailed statement.

“This is great news as it enables Californians who have COVID19 or have to quarantine because of exposure to take time off rather than working and infecting others. And employers will have their costs covered by the federally allowed payroll tax cut that credits sick leave payments. SB95 will save lives, and help us limit the spread of this deadly disease,” Skinner said.

More than 100 business groups led by the California Chamber of Commerce opposed the bill this month, saying it placed heavy financial burdens on stillstruggling businesses.

“One year after California’s stayathome order was put in place, too many businesses remain in a fight for economic survival. Implementing this new costly mandate could sink them,” Jennifer Barrera, CalChamber executive vice president, said in a previous statement.

One compromise was to exempt the smallest businesses — those with less than 25 employees — from the financial burden of the law, according to Ben Ebbink, a Fisher & Phillips attorney in Sacramento

Under federal law some employers who voluntarily provide COVID sick leave can get a tax break starting April 1. Because SB95 is retroactive to January, it’s not clear if leave taken during that time will be eligible for a refund, Ebbink said.

The law differs from previous sick leave efforts in other key ways.

SB95 applies to all workers, not just people who have to leave their home to work as the state law passed last year did. The law also applies to anyone subject to an isolation or quarantine period because of the virus, defined as an order or guidelines from state, federal or local public health authorities.

Companies can get up to $511 per day back in payroll taxes for employees who take time off under those provisions. If a worker takes time off to care for a family member their employer can only get up to $200 per day back in tax credits.

An employee who is told to isolate themselves because of concerns about the virus would also fall under the new law. Receiving the vaccine or experiencing it’s side effects are also covered under the law. People experiencing symptoms and getting medical help as well as caring for a family member dealing with the disease or a child whose school is closed could also take the time off.