By: HUB's Absence Management Team

On October 4, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 616 increasing the amount of paid sick leave employers are required to provide to California employees effective January 1, 2024.

Overview: California Paid Sick Leave

California’s paid sick leave law under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act (HWHFA) requires employers to provide California employees who work at least 30 days in a year with a set amount of paid sick leave. Covered employees are entitled to take leave for their own or a family member’s existing health condition or preventative care, or for specified purposes for an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

This bulletin summarizes the changes made to California’s paid sick leave law with the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 616.

Legislative Updates

Effective January 1, 2024, the amount of paid sick leave that must be provided increases from 24 hours or 3 days to 40 hours or 5 days as follows:

  • Paid sick leave will continue to accrue at a rate of one hour per every 30 hours worked or any alternative accrual method so long as employees have 40 hours or 5 days of paid sick leave available by the 200th day of employment;
  • The annual usage limit increases to 40 hours or 5 days;
  • Carryover balances may be capped at 80 hours or 10 days;
  • Frontload requirements increase to 40 hours or 5 days.

The bill also amends the schedule for in-home supportive service providers (IHSS) to increase their paid sick leave accrual to 40 hours or five days in each year of employment.

In addition to increasing paid sick leave amounts, SB 616 extends certain provisions within existing paid sick leave law to employees covered by valid collective bargaining agreements that are otherwise exempt from other provisions of the paid sick leave law. The provisions that now also apply to employees covered by valid collective bargaining agreements include:

  • Covered Uses
  • Replacement Worker Prohibition
  • Anti-Retaliation

Finally, SB 616 formally excludes employees and employers covered by the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA). This incorporates into law the outcome of litigation against the state by the rail industry, which found that the RUIA preempted California law.

Next Steps

Employers should review these changes closely and make any necessary updates to written paid sick leave policies, employee handbooks and/or training materials, and payroll standards by January 1, 2024 to ensure compliance.

NOTICE OF DISCLAIMER
Neither Hub International Limited nor any of its affiliated companies is a law or accounting firm, and therefore they cannot provide legal or tax advice. The information herein is provided for general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or tax advice as to an organization’s specific circumstances. You should consult an attorney, accountant, or other legal or tax professional regarding the application of the general information provided here to your organization’s specific situation in light of your organization’s particular needs.