2022 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Extended to December 31,2022
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in changes to sick leave throughout the nation, intending to reduce the spread of the virus. Although California has moved forward from the pandemic, COVID-19 rules and developments continue to impact employers, particularly as it relates to paid sick leave. Additionally, efforts have been made to legally provide sick leave to employees, allowing them to recover while minimizing the financial impact of their illnesses.
In California, the 2022 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave provides covered employees with up to 80 hours of COVID-19-related paid leave, which was in addition to paid sick leave as defined by earlier California laws. This supplemental paid sick leave for 2022 has now been extended to December 31, 2022. Learn what this paid sick leave covers, who qualify for this leave, and how your employees can use it.
What Can the Paid Sick Leave Be Used For?
California’s paid sick leave law came into effect in 2015. It provided paid time off for employees to use for COVID or non-COVID-related illnesses or preventive care for you or a family member. This law also provides that sick leave can be used if you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Most workers are entitled to paid sick leave, typically earning one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours that they have worked. The sick leave employers are required to provide can be capped at 24 hours or three days per year, whichever is more by a policy communicated from the employer to the employees.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the paid sick leave law was adjusted to include supplemental paid sick leave. The COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave is in addition to the sick leave provided under previous laws, which may have since expired. To have access to this sick leave, you must have worked for your employer for at least 30 days within the year and have completed a 90-day employment period before taking any sick leave.
It has to be noted that certain municipalities have local paid sick leave laws, which means that employers must comply with both state and local laws, even if they may differ in some respects. Employers must provide the leave amount that is most generous to their employees.
What Can COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Cover?
Up to 40 of your 80 hours of COVID-19-related paid leave can be used for isolation and quarantine, receiving vaccines, or caring for a child whose school or daycare may be closed. Quarantine or isolation periods are defined by an order or guidance from the California Department of Public Health, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or local public health officers with jurisdiction over a workplace.
The additional bank of 40 hours is available when an employee, or family member for whom that employee provides care (such as a child or elderly family member), tests positive for COVID-19. That gives individuals and families more flexibility to handle the care of family members who might be suffering from COVID-19 or otherwise impacted by the virus.
All employers, either public or private, with 26 or more employees are covered, including those with collective bargaining agreements.
Can an Employee Use This Leave for Family Members?
A family member is defined as a child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling. A child can include biological, adopted, or foster, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child where the employee is serving as in loco parentis.
A covered employee is eligible for the 2022 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave if they are caring for a family member who has been recommended to stay home by a medical professional, if they are personally subject to a quarantine or isolation period themselves due to COVID-19 exposure, or if they are caring for a family member who is subject to a COVID-19 related quarantine or isolation period.
Coverage Period Under the Law
Although the law was signed into effect in February, the requirement for an employer to provide this coverage was made retroactive to January 1, 2022. That means employees who took qualified leave between January 1, 2022, and February 19, 2022, can request payment for that leave if the employer did not already pay it.
If the law expires while the covered employee is taking this leave, then they can finish taking the amount of 2022 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave they are entitled to receive. California’s Department of Industrial Relations offers information for employers, including calculating the hours of leave an employee has and requesting documentation for retroactive payment from employees.
If you are unsure about how to implement the 2022 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave for your employees, our team of experienced human resources specialists can help. Contact us today to learn more about outsourcing human resources and what that can mean for your company.
CA HR Services specializes in working with small and medium-sized companies to help develop legal, efficient, and appropriate H.R. processes and procedures that meet state and federal labor law requirements.