New California COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave
COVID-19 Compliance Update
February 9, 2022
Effective February 19, 2022, California employers will need to provide Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL) to employees for COVID-related reasons, including vaccinations. While this new law (SB 114) is very similar to last year's COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Law (SB 95), there are also notable differences to be aware of.
Summary of Key Components:
Effective Date: The law is effective from February 19 through September 30, 2022. However, it will apply retroactively to January 1, 2022, and will cover any eligible leave requests through September 30, 2022.
Covered Employers: All California employers with 26 or more employees.
Eligible Employees: All employees are immediately eligible, but leave is limited to specified reasons. No CBA waivers are available for union employees.
Amount of Leave: Full-time employees may use up to 40 hours of SPSL for a variety of COVID-related reasons, similar to previous CA COVID leave provisions (SB 95). An additional 40 hours of SPSL is available to full-time employees who test positive for COVID or whose family member tests positive. Under certain circumstances, employers may require proof of a positive test. Part-time and seasonal employees may also take leave, with pro-rated amounts calculated in the same manner as with SB 95.
Interaction with Other Leave: SPSL required under local ordinances may be used as an offset for the new CA SPSL. However, for exclusion pay required under the Cal/OSHA ETS, employers cannot require employees to use CA SPSL, and past exclusion pay does not count towards the CA SPSL requirement.
Employee Pay: The maximum amount of SPSL is $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate. There are as yet no arrangements with any of the unions for reduced Trust Fund packages, but UCON is working on this.
Paystubs: Employers do not need to track the available amount of SPSL each pay period. However, any SPSL used during that pay period must be shown on the employee’s paystub or on a separate writing, separate from any other paid sick leave or PTO.
Notice Requirement: A notice must be provided to employees and will soon be available from the Labor Commissioner.
UCON ADVOCACY
UCON continues to oppose SPSL without financial relief for our contractors.
Contact or tweet Governor Newsom and your state representatives, urging them to support Dollar-for-Dollar tax relief for premium wage employers.
FURTHER RESOURCES
A comprehensive FAQ is now available from UCON on our COVID-19 Resources Page. We will continue to revise it as more information becomes available.