Governor Newsom agrees to restore California paid sick leave:
- Employees will have access to 2 weeks paid time off when testing positive for COVID-19.
- The new leave program will be retroactive to January 1, 2022 and extended through September 30, 2022.
- The new program ONLY covers employers with 26 or more employees.
Who can use the leave?
- Any full-time employee of a company that has 26 or more workers is entitled to 40 hours of paid leave due to COVID-19.
- That doesn’t cover getting the vaccine or recovering from side effects. In that instance, the employee gets 24 hours.
What steps does an employee need to take to get paid?
- Show proof that they or a family member has tested positive.
- To prevent possible fraud by employees, employers must pay and provide the test.
- If the employee refuses to take the test or show a positive test result, no additional sick leave will be granted.
- Anyone who tests positive should quarantine for five days, regardless of vaccination status.
What do businesses get?
- Businesses will have to absorb the costs, but tax credits and federal relief grants will hopefully be restored.
