California Paid Sick Leave Notice Requirements Take Effect January 1

Author: Marta Moakley, XpertHR Legal Editor

December 8, 2014

California's new paid sick leave law includes several provisions that take effect on January 1, 2015. Although the provisions of the Healthy Workplaces/Healthy Families Act of 2014 that specifically allow for employees to accrue paid sick leave do not take effect until July 1, 2015, employers must be mindful that a number of provisions take effect in less than a month.

For example, the law's notice provisions are effective as of January 1, 2015. Under these provisions, employers must notify employees of their rights under the law, including information regarding the amount of sick days available as well as related retaliation protections.

To facilitate compliance with the law, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement has updated its website to include a workplace poster, which covered employers must post in a conspicuous location that is accessible to employees beginning on January 1. Notably, failure to post the required poster may result in a civil penalty of up to $100 per offense. In addition, the Wage Theft Prevention Act Notice has been revised for 2015 to reflect the paid-sick-days requirement. The existing template may be used until December 31, 2014.

Because there has been some confusion related to the law's effective dates and other requirements, the Labor Commissioner has published certain Frequently Asked Questions to assist employers in complying with the law. The questions address employee eligibility, rate of accrual and effective dates. Specifically, the guidance explains that:

Both the qualifying periods that determine which employees are eligible for paid sick leave and the employee notice required by [the Labor Code] become effective on January 1, 2015, but the law provides that entitlement does not begin until July 1, 2015.

Employers using a staffing agency should take note: temporary employees are covered by the new law, and an employer or joint employer will be required to provide sick leave to qualifying employees next summer.