on January 27, 2017
Posted in Uncategorized
With the arrival of 2017, many employers are
recognizing the difficulties in navigating the complex set of paid leave laws
in Southern California. For regular readers of the blog, this may seem
like a repeat, but this post is five items employers need to remember about
paid sick leave laws in Southern California.
1. The law – either state or local – that
provides the most generous benefits to the employees must be followed by the
employer.
California’s paid sick leave law applies to all
employers and provides employees with 24 hour or 3 days of paid sick
leave. As set forth below, many local cities and counties have
implemented their own paid sick leave requirements. Employers must comply
with the law that provides the most benefits to employees.
2. Southern California cities and counties that
have implemented paid sick leave laws
State/City
|
Minimum Wage
|
Paid Sick Leave
|
California
|
$10/hr January 1, 2016; $10.50 January 1, 2017
for employers with 26 or more employees
|
Current: 3 days or 24 hours
|
Los Angeles – City
|
July 1, 2016: $10.50/hr; July 1, 2017 $12;
July 1, 2018 $13.25; July 1, 2019 $14.25; July 1, 2020 $15.00 *
|
July 1, 2016: 48 hours*
|
Los Angeles – County
|
Same as LA City
|
No specific requirement – CA law applies
|
San Diego
|
July 2016: $10.50; January 1, 2017 $11.50;
January 1, 2019 indexed to inflation
|
5 paid sick days (effective July 11, 2016)
|
Santa Monica
|
$10.50 July 1, 2016; July 1, 2017 $12.00; July
1, 2018 $13.25; July 1, 2019 $14.25; July 1, 2020 $15.00*
|
January 1, 2017: 32 hours for small
businesses, 40 hours for large businesses; January 1, 2018: 40 hours for
small business, 72 hours for large businesses*
|
Malibu
|
$10.50 July 1, 2016*
|
No specific requirement – CA law applies
|
Pasadena
|
$10.50 July 1, 2016*
|
No specific requirement – CA law applies
|
* Employers with 25 or fewer employees the
implementation is delayed one year.
|
3. How to determine which law applies to your
business operating in the County of Los Angeles
There is a lot of confusion about what law
applies to businesses operating in Los Angeles County. The County of Los
Angeles’ ordinance only applies to unincorporated cities within the
county. Here is a list of the incorporated cities in the County of
Los Angeles. If the employer is located in an incorporated city, the employer must
comply with the incorporated city’s paid sick leave requirements, and if the
city does not have any requirements, California’s paid sick leave law would
apply.
4. Understand the difference between use cap and
accrual caps
Under California state law, employers may apply
an accrual cap at 48 hours or 6 days per year. The employees must be
allowed to accrue up to this amount and carry it over from year to year.
The accrual cap is different from the annual use
cap. The annual use cap allows employers to limit the amount of paid sick
leave used by the employee within one year. Under California state law,
employers can also impose an annual use cap of 24 hours or 3 days (whichever is
greater) each year.
Employers need to pay careful attention about
the differences in the state and local laws that apply to their companies in
this regard. For example, under Santa Monica’s paid sick leave ordinance,
the accrual cap is 40 hours for large employers in 2017. However, because
accrual cap is less than what is permitted under California law, employers must
follow California’s more generous requirements of allowing accrual of up to 48
hours or 6 days per year) and 72 hours in 2018.
5. Can employers change accrual methods after
one has been implemented?
Yes, there is nothing that prohibits employers
from changing accrual methods (i.e., up-front grant or the accrual method).
However, as employers are already required to provide non-exempt employees with
an individualized Notice to Employee as required under Labor Code section
2810.5 that sets forth the employer’s accrual method, employers should consult
an employment attorney about how to provide advanced notice to employees prior
to changing the policy and how to treat already accrued and unused paid sick
leave under the old policy.
No comments:
Post a Comment