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California Employment Law and Paid Sick Leave

On Behalf of | Dec 19, 2017 | Articles, Employment Litigation

As of the first of July, 2015, the Healthy Families Act that was introduced in 2015 will begin to impose new requirements for paid sick leave on the employers within California. Employers in California continue to be squeezed – some people believe this is another reason why so many of them are leaving to other states but this is another topic. Employers that remain in California need to take notes.

Most employers – regardless of their size or industry are covered under the new law, and this does not allow for an exception for smaller employers or employers that have a fewer than the usual amount of employees. In fact, there are not many exceptions to this law all around.

In other words, this means that if you have been refused paid sick leave by your employer, you may have the right grounds to bring a case of employment litigation against him or her in court.

At Least 3 Paid Sick Days a Year

Once an employee has been working within a company for at least thirty days, their employer will be required to provide them with one hour of paid sick leave for every thirty hours worked. Typically, most employers allow paid sick leave that has accrued over time to roll over to the next year, but employers across California are allowed to limit the use of paid sick leave within one year to three days or twenty-four hours.

If an employer provides the complete amount of sick leave at the beginning of each year, therefore allowing employees to take sick leave before they would have accrued it, then a carry-over is not required. An employer also does not have to allow employees to accrue sick leave that exceeds six days or forty-eight hours.

Understanding Paid Sick Leave

All employees with sick leave have the right to use that paid time to provide preventative care for themselves, or a family member. An employee who uses their sick leave will be entitled to pay at current standard rate per hour. On the other hand, employees who earn commissions will have to have those commissions factored into their leave payment.

Obviously, paid sick leave and vacation leave are not the same thing, and this can frequently lead to a lot of confusion in the workplace when it comes to determine how much time away from work can be spent while still receiving a usual wage. It’s vital to make sure that you understand the laws regarding sick leave, vacation leave, and other benefits, and that you have a concrete understanding of what your employer offers before you attempt to take the situation to court.

Employee Handbooks

In most circumstances, you should find that your employee handbook offers you an insight into the kind of sick leave you can expect to take over the course of your time within a particular company or occupation. This should help to remove some of the confusion regarding how much time you can spend on sickness leave and so on.

If you aren’t sure, it’s best to speak to your employer about your contract as early as possible, and get a copy of that information. This way if you are not given the benefits that are promised in your contract, you will be better equipped to launch an employment litigation case.

For more information, contact Makarem & Associates either via phone at 310.312.0299, or over email at: [email protected]. We know how to win cases. What is your side of the story? The first meeting with us is free. We are not paid until you are paid.

Makarem & Associates looks forward to hearing from you.