On October 4, 2023, California’s Governor signed Senate Bill (SB) 616, which increases the amount of paid sick leave employers are required to provide to California employees.

Beginning on January 1, 2024, employers must increase the amount of sick leave provided to California employees from three days/24 hours to five days/40 hours.

Accrual

Under California’s existing paid sick leave statute, employees who work in California for the same employer for 30 or more days must accrue no less than one hour of paid sick leave per every 30 hours worked. Current law allows employers to use alternative accrual methods (other than the one hour of paid sick leave per every 30 hours worked), so long as employees have three days/24 hours of available paid sick leave by the employee’s 120^th calendar day of employment or each calendar year. Under SB 616, employers may continue to use different accrual methods other than one hour per every 30 worked but must also ensure employees have no less than five days/40 hours of accrued paid sick leave by the 200^th calendar day of employment or each calendar year.

Moreover, SB 616 modifies existing law by stating that an employer may satisfy the accrual requirements of the statute by providing three days/24 hours of paid sick leave that is available to the employee to use by the 120^th calendar day of employment, and no less than five days/40 hours of paid sick leave by the 200^th calendar day of employment.

Use Limits

SB 616 increases the amount of sick leave that an employee may use in each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period, from three days/24 hours to five days/40 hours.   

Accrual Cap and Carryover

SB 616 also requires that employers increase the accrual and carryover cap to ten days/80 hours. However, no accrual or carryover is required if the employer provides five days/40 hours of paid sick leave upfront each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period.

In-Home Supportive Service Providers and Employees Covered by CBAs

The bill also amends the schedule for in-home supportive service providers (IHSS) to increase their paid sick leave accrual to five days/40 hours in each year of employment.

In addition, SB 616 extends certain procedural and anti-retaliation provisions in existing paid sick leave law to employees covered by valid collective bargaining agreements that are otherwise exempt from other provisions of the paid sick leave law.

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The changes to California’s paid sick leave statute take effect January 1, 2024.