California Leaves

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Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers are usually mindful of the many laws governing employee medical leaves and how they interact. But what about accommodation for non-medically necessary leaves? This post discusses the basics of employee leaves for elective medical procedures.

California employers who administer employee leave laws navigate a complicated labyrinth. Employers must consider interactions among federal laws (ADA, FMLA, Title VII),…
Continue Reading Nip/Tuck Leave: When Employees Take Leave for Elective Procedures

Seyfarth Synopsis: In leaves of absence, as in employment law generally, California can be peculiar. We examine at a few examples, including particular city ordinances in Emeryville and San Francisco, and other statewide oddities such as voting, organ/tissue donation, and reckless student leave.

In the weird, wonderful, and often complex world of California leave laws, there are many familiar…
Continue Reading Ruff CA Leave Laws: Pet Care and Other Peculiarities

Seyfarth Synopsis: After hitting some major roadblocks, the San Diego Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance has now been enacted. The Ordinance is to take effect this summer, most likely by the end of July. The Ordinance adds another perplexing piece to California’s paid sick leave patchwork.

After taking a nearly two-year hiatus, the San Diego Earned Sick…
Continue Reading San Diego Voters Enact Paid Sick Leave, Higher Minimum Wage

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Los Angeles City Council has voted and the Mayor has signed the ordinance.  As of July 1, 2016, many employees within the City of Los Angeles will be entitled to accrue 48 hours of paid sick leave per year. The ordinance has a number of unusual and specific provisions that employers need to be aware of, described …
Continue Reading L.A. Gets Sick—Paid Sick Leave Coming as Soon as July 1, 2016

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Starting Jan 1, 2018, the amount of benefits paid to employees on paid family leave and state disability will increase substantially, depending on an employee’s income level.

The Legislature and Governor have been keeping very busy. On April 11, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 908, which will, though effective January 1, 2017, increase, for…
Continue Reading California Governor Brown Signs Legislation to Expand Paid Family Leave

On April 5, 2016, San Francisco became the first American jurisdiction to mandate fully paid parental leave for parents to bond with their child.  California already provided six weeks of partially paid leave through the state disability insurance program (55% of pay, up to $1,129 per week).  But the Paid Parental Leave Ordinance passed by the San Francisco Board…
Continue Reading San Francisco Passes Fully Paid Parental Leave (for Most)

(Illustration) Sick PayBy Kristina M Launey

The Labor Commissioner has issued a new and updated set of FAQs interpreting California’s new Paid Sick Leave Law (AB 1522 of 2014).

If you’ve been following along, you know that after passage of the new law last year, the Labor Commissioner issued a template Poster and Wage Theft Prevention Notice for employers to use and post, as well as a first set of FAQs.

The new FAQs obligate employers to inform existing employees of the new sick pay law and changes in policy via the Wage Theft Notice, provide guidance regarding when such notice must be given to existing employees, and provide guidance regarding sick leave eligibility for seasonal or break-in-service employees, as well as part-time and alternative work schedule employees.

Wage Theft Prevention Notices: Employees hired before January 1, 2015 must receive a new Notice that contains the new information regarding paid sick time under amended Labor Code section 2810.5, even if there is no change in employer policy.

Employers must give all employees (not just those hired after January 1, 2015) a new Wage Theft Prevention Notice, announcing any change to paid sick leave, within seven days of the actual change. Although the FAQs are silent on this point, note that Labor Code section 2810.5,  which requires Wage Theft Prevention Notices, applies only to non-exempt employees.

The “date of actual change” would depend on when the employer either establishes a paid sick program under the paid sick leave law or changes an existing paid leave program to comply with this law, but would be no later than July 1, 2015. Thus, the last date to provide notice of changes would be no later than July 8, 2015 (seven days after the July 1 sick leave entitlement effective date).

Employers who do not want to issue new Wage Theft Prevention Notices to all current employees may instead inform those employees of the change to paid sick leave by using an alternative method authorized by Labor Code section 2810.5(b)(1) or (b)(2) (e.g., giving notice of change in a pay stub or itemized wage statement). Employers who choose this route should take care to follow the requirements of these alternatives and keep records of having provided those employees with the notice.

Even employers whose existing policy satisfies the minimum requirements of the law must still provide notice—via the new Wage Theft Prevention Notice or an alternative method—regarding the new paid sick leave law. The notice must contain information about the new paid sick leave law and how the employer intends to meet its requirements for the particular employee. For example, a timely writing provided to each employee that refers to or summarizes the existing policy and contains the points of information specified in the revised Wage Theft Prevention Notice would comply with the individual notice requirement.
Continue Reading CA Paid Sick Leave Update: Labor Commissioner Issues More FAQs

By Kristina Launey and Christie Jackson

On August 30, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown commented on the Legislature’s passage of a bill entitled the “Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014”: “Tonight, the Legislature took historic action to help hardworking Californians. This bill guarantees that millions of workers – from Eureka to San Diego – won’t lose their jobs or pay just because they get sick.”  The bill, which he signed into law September 10, will require employers statewide to provide paid sick leave.

Though the requirement that employees receive paid sick leave under the Act does not kick in until July 1, 2015, the Act already has employers sweating the law’s myriad of new provisions, mindful of the compliance headaches the new law’s vagaries are certain to bring. If only there were a vaccine… For now, as is often the case, the only sure cure is prevention. Awareness and proactive preparation is the only way to weather the worst of this latest legislative virus.

Employees May Earn 24 Hours of Paid Sick Leave Per Year: The Act grants a right to earn paid sick days to employees who—on or after July 1, 2015—work in California for 30 or more days within a year. Paid sick days will accrue at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. The employee may use the accrued sick days beginning on the 90th day of employment. Exempt employees’ accrual is based on a presumed 40 hour-workweek; except that an exempt employee whose normal workweek is fewer than 40 hours will accrue paid sick days based on that employee’s normal workweek.

An employer can limit use of paid sick days to 24 hours or three days in each year of employment. No accrual or carry over is required if the full amount of leave is received at the beginning of each year. The Act does not require extra paid sick days to be paid by employers whose paid time off policies already provide as many sick days as the Act now requires.

Qualifying Reasons for Use: 
Continue Reading New Sick Pay Law Will Nauseate Some California Employers

By Jonathan L. Brophy

Employees are often shocked to learn that employers are not required to provide paid vacations. But it’s true. Legal guarantees of paid leave abound in other advanced economies, but not in the United States, and not even in California. Indeed, the effect of California law is to discourage employers from voluntarily providing paid vacation, because California peculiarly mandates that if the employer offers paid vacation, then the vacation pay must be deemed to vest, with any unused portion being due when employment ends. So “use it or lose it” policies, for example, are not enforceable in California.

In response to this annoying California peculiarity, some employers have considered adopting “no vacation” policies, and “unlimited time off” policies for exempt employees. Below is a quick primer on such policies and some issues to consider before changing existing policies.
Continue Reading Vacation: No Pay for My Time Off? Exploring the Nuances of Unlimited or No Paid Time Policies

By: Lindsay Fitch

Just when you thought you finally understood employee rights and employer obligations under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), you realize that you are in California, where employee privacy rights loom large and the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”) also comes into play.  Although both laws are intended for the same purposes—to provide employees of larger employers with protected time off for various medical conditions and family situations—the CFRA tightens the reins on the information available to the employer.  Of course you want to give your employees what they need, but you also want to make sure the request is legitimate. 

So, as a California employer, what are you entitled to ask your employee about the need for CFRA leave?  Far less than under the FMLA, it turns out.  You can ask: 

→        Is the employee qualified?  Under both the FMLA and CFRA, employees are qualified for leave when they have a serious health condition or when they need to care for a family member with a verified serious health condition.  A “serious health condition” is an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves one of the following: 

  •       Hospital care
  •      Absence (incapacity) plus treatment  
  •      Chronic conditions requiring treatment
  •      Permanent/long term conditions requiring supervision
  •      Multiple treatments for certain (non-chronic) conditions
  •      Pregnancy (a serious health condition under FMLA, but not under CFRA) 

→        How Should I Know?  I’m Not a Doctor.  Fortunately, you can require a medical certification to verify the serious health condition, which must include some specific information to be sufficient.
Continue Reading Mysterious Leaves of Absence: How Do I Know If An Employee Qualifies For Leave If I Can’t Ask About Their Condition?