Not satisfied with California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 which provided paid sick leave to California workers starting in July of 2015, Santa Monica and Los Angeles joined a growing number of cities that require enhanced paid sick leave benefits to workers within their boundaries. The laws are similar in many respects. Both ordinances apply to workers who work within that city’s boundaries at least two hours in a particular week. Both laws permit the use of paid sick leave beginning on the 90th day of employment and state that accrued but unused leave need not be paid out on termination of employment, which is also consistent with California standards. However, there are important differences between the two laws.
Commencing on July 1, 2016, the Los Angeles paid sick leave ordinance requires that employees be allowed to use up to 48 hours of paid sick leave each year. Accrued but unused paid sick leave must be carried over to the following year of employment and may be capped at 72 hours or higher. The Los Angeles ordinance provides that sick leave may accrue at the rate of one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked or, alternatively, employers may provide employees with the entire 48 hours at the beginning of each year of employment, calendar year or other 12-month period. The Los Angeles ordinance states that, if the employer has a paid leave or paid time off policy that is equal to or no less than 48 hours, then no additional time is required. The ordinance adds that the employee must work in the city for the same employer for 30 or more days a year to be entitled to benefits, which is consistent with California requirement. Like its California counterpart, the Los Angeles law provides that employees who separate from employment and are rehired by the same employer within one year must have their previously unused paid sick leave time reinstated.
The Santa Monica ordinance also provides that sick leave may accrue at the rate of one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked or, alternatively, employers may provide employees with the full amount of required leave at the beginning of each year of employment, calendar year or other 12-month period. However, Santa Monica distinguishes leave requirements based on the size of the employer. Specifically, employers with 26 or more employees must provide at least 40 hours of accrued paid sick leave as of January 1, 2017, and 72 hours of accrued paid leave as of January 1, 2018. Unused paid sick leave must carry over from year to year until the paid leave reaches a maximum of 40 or 72 hours, unless the employer’s established cap is more generous. Employers with 25 or fewer employees must provide at least 32 hours of accrued paid sick leave as of January 1, 2017, and 40 hours of accrued paid leave as of January 1, 2018. As with larger employers, unused paid sick leave must carry over from year to year. The cap provided for these smaller employers is a maximum of 32 or 40 hours, unless the employer’s established cap is higher. No carry over or accrual is required when the full amount of the leave is provided at the beginning of each year.
Although the requirements for using the paid sick leave in Santa Monica or Los Angeles are consistent with California’s paid sick leave law, the Los Angeles ordinance allows the employee to care for “any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.”
The Los Angeles and Santa Monica ordinances are important because both exceed the California state law that provides a minimum of three days or 24 hours of paid sick leave, in addition to the carry over requirements and other distinctions noted above. Accordingly, employers must make sure that their sick leave policies comply with all applicable standards.
