Contact: Steven M. Schneider and Amara Russell Bromberg; Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP (Los Angeles, California, USA)
Effective July 1, 2015, nearly all California employers will be required to provide at least three days of paid sick leave per year to their employees. The new law, AB 1522, also known as the “Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014,” was approved by the California Legislature on August 30, 2014 and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. It will be enforced by the Labor Commissioner and the Attorney General, either of whom may bring civil actions.
While the vast majority of employers will be required to provide paid sick leave under AB 1522, the new law does carve out exceptions for: (1) providers of in-home supportive services, (2) flight deck or cabin crew members of air carriers subject to the Railway Labor Act, and (3) employees working under collective bargaining agreements, provided certain minimum requirements are met (see ASK MSK sidebar).
Under AB 1522, employees who work in California for 30 or more days within a year will be eligible to accrue at least one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. This includes both full-time and part-time employees who, on or after July 1, 2015 work in California for 30 or more days. Employees will be entitled to use their accrued sick days beginning on their 90th day of employment.
