California Paid Sick Leave: A Comprehensive Guide for Employers

Effective January 1, 2024, California employers must provide eligible employees with a minimum of 5 days or 40 hours of paid sick leave annually, whichever is greater. This policy applies to employees working variable schedules—for instance, those on 10-hour shifts would accrue 50 hours, while 6-hour shift workers would receive 30 hours, with additional hours available up to the 40-hour minimum.

While the law sets baseline requirements, employers have flexibility in designing their paid sick leave programs. Many companies, including SailGlobal, offer enhanced benefits beyond statutory minimums, such as more generous accrual rates or broader usage terms. All plans must comply with state mandates for accumulation, carryover, and usage.

Eligibility Criteria for Paid Sick Leave

Coverage extends to most employees who work at least 30 days for the same employer within a year, including part-time, per-diem, in-home support workers, and temporary staff. Key eligibility conditions include:

Employment Duration: Employees must complete 90 days of service before utilizing sick leave.
Work Threshold: At least 30 days of work within a 12-month period for the same employer.

Once paid sick leave is exhausted, employees may access unpaid leave, use other paid time off, or leverage short-term disability insurance, subject to employer policies and applicable laws.

Permissible Uses of Paid Sick Leave

Employees may use sick leave for their own medical needs or to care for family members. Advance notice is required for planned absences (e.g., doctor appointments), while unexpected illnesses warrant notification as soon as practicable. Acceptable uses include:

Personal or Family Health: Treatment, preventive care (e.g., annual physicals, vaccinations), or diagnosis for employees or designated family members, including grandparents, siblings, and grandchildren.
Victims of Crime: Time off to address needs arising from being a victim of a crime or assisting a family member who is a victim.
Agricultural Workers: Leave due to workplace closures caused by extreme environmental conditions like wildfires or floods.

Wage Payment and Record-Keeping Requirements

Employers must pay sick leave wages at the employee’s regular rate, with payment due by the next regular pay period. Key considerations:

Non-Exempt Employees: Pay calculated based on the non-overtime rate during the sick leave week or the average rate over the preceding 90 days.
Exempt Employees: Paid similarly to other forms of paid leave, typically as a fixed salary.

Employers must display accrued sick leave balances on pay stubs or accompanying documents and maintain records for three years, accessible to employees electronically.

Implementing Paid Sick Leave: Accrual vs. Front-Loading

Employers may choose between two primary methods to administer sick leave:

Accrual Method

Employees earn sick leave incrementally based on hours worked. Unused hours may carry over to the next year, capped at 80 hours or 10 days.

Front-Loading Method

Employers provide the full annual allotment at the start of the year. New hires must receive at least 3 days (24 hours) by their 120th calendar day of employment and the full 5 days (40 hours) by the 200th day.

Adopting a compliant and transparent sick leave policy, as SailGlobal recommends, not only meets legal obligations but also fosters employee well-being and organizational stability.

California Paid Sick Leave Law 2024: Employer Compliance Guide