UPDATED August 2021 to reflect extensions of local ordinances into 2021. This article will be updated as we continue to learn about additional extensions to local ordinances.
UPDATED June 2021 to reflect extensions of local ordinances into 2021. This article will be updated as we continue to learn about additional extensions to local ordinances.
Following on the heels of the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), many state and local governments have enacted additional sick leave laws that benefit employees of employers not covered by the FFCRA, but who may be impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Leave requirements under the FFCRA do not necessarily preempt state or local paid leave mandates and are in addition to leave provided under state or local law. Therefore, employers should be on the lookout for specific guidance in their state or local jurisdiction for laws coordinating FFCRA with those mandates. For additional information on the FFCRA and its requirements, please visit our blog post.
While there are many proposals making their way through state and local legislatures, this article highlights select existing sick leave laws that have been expanded or newly enacted in response to COVID-19. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of all laws that may apply.
Arizona
On April 7, 2020 the Industrial Commission updated its FAQs on the state’s Earned Paid Sick Time law in light of COVID-19.
California
San Francisco Workers and Families First Program
Mayor London Breed announced the Workers and Families First Program (Program), which provides paid sick leave for private sector workers impacted by COVID-19. The Program is available pursuant to San Francisco’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance and the guidance issued by San Francisco’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement. For more information about the program please visit our blog post.
*On September 11, 2020, the San Francisco mayor approved a temporary emergency ordinance, protecting employees, contractors, and job applicants from adverse employment action if they test positive for coronavirus, or choose to isolate, or quarantine, due to COVID-19 exposure or symptoms. The ordinance expires on November 10, 2020 unless it is reenacted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
San Francisco Public Health Emergency Leave Ordinance
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the Public Health Emergency Leave Ordinance (PHELO), requiring private employers with 500 or more employees worldwide to provide public health emergency leave consistent with the FFCRA for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Once effective, private employers who are not subject to FFCRA because they have more than 500 employees will be subject to nearly identical paid leave requirements. Employers will not receive any tax credits or monetary relief for providing this additional San Francisco based benefit. On February 9, 2021 the Board of Supervisors extended PHELO for an additional 60 days (unless extended again). For more information about PHELO, please visit our blog post.
*On September 11, 2020, the San Francisco mayor approved a temporary emergency ordinance, protecting employees, contractors, and job applicants from adverse employment action if they test positive for coronavirus, or choose to isolate, or quarantine, due to COVID-19 exposure or symptoms. The ordinance expires on November 10, 2020 unless it is reenacted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Oakland Emergency Paid Sick Leave Ordinance
On May 12, the City of Oakland passed an emergency paid sick leave ordinance requiring employers to provide up to 80 hours of additional paid sick leave for COVID-19 related issues. On January 19, 2021, Oakland City Council extended the emergency paid sick leave ordinance through the end of the city’s COVID-19 Emergency Declaration (the date of which is unknown). For more information on please visit our blog post.
Los Angeles Supplemental Paid Sick Leave
On April 7, Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti signed into law an order that provides two weeks of paid sick leave to workers of private employers with either 500 or more employees within the City of Los Angeles, or with 2,000* or more employees in the United States, for the following COVID-19-related reasons:
- The employee tests positive for COVID-19 or takes leave because a public health official or healthcare provider requires or recommends that the employee isolate or self-quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19;
- The employee is at least 65 years old or has a health condition such as heart disease, asthma, lung disease, diabetes, kidney disease, or weakened immune system;
- The employee needs to care for a family member who is not sick but who a public health official or healthcare provider has required or recommended isolation or self-quarantine; or
- The employee needs to provide care for a family member whose senior care provider or school/childcare provider (for children under the age of 18) temporarily ceases operations in response to recommendation from a public or public health official. This provision is only applicable when an employee is unable to secure a reasonable alternative caregiver.
The paid sick leave amount paid to an employee is capped at $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate. The mayor’s order is open-ended, lasting until two calendar weeks after the COVID-19 local emergency ends. Employers must provide this sick leave upon an employee’s oral or written request, but the law does not address when employees must provide notice. The law states that employers cannot require a doctor’s note or other documentation for use of this paid sick leave.
On February 10, 2021 the Mayor revised an order expanding employee coverage for supplemental sick leave. For additional information about Los Angeles supplemental paid sick leave, please visit our blog post.
*It is currently unclear under the new regulation how to count the total number of employees for these purposes.
Emeryville’s Paid Sick Leave Law
The City of Emeryville has issued guidance that employers in the city “must allow covered employees to use accrued sick leave” in COVID-19-related situations under Emeryville’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance.
San Jose Emergency Paid Sick Leave Ordinances
On April 7, the San Jose City Council adopted an ordinance that requires employers not subject to the FFCRA to provide emergency paid sick leave. Employers will not receive any tax credits or monetary relief for providing this additional San Jose based benefit. The Director of the Office of Equality Assurance, charged with enforcement of the ordinance, has also issued guidance and an opinion letter to provide additional information. The initial ordinance sunset on December 31, 2020, however on January 5, 2021, City Council enacted a revised and expanded emergency ordinance effective through June 31, 2021. The revised ordinance applies to all employers (as opposed to prior ordinance which covered private employers not covered by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act). Covered employees are individuals who work at least two hours in San Jose. For more information about the revised ordinance, visit the City of San Jose webpage.
Sacramento
On June 30, the City of Sacramento passed the Worker Protection, Health, and Safety Act requiring employers provide supplemental paid sick. The law is effective July 15, 2020, and will remain in effect through December 31, 2020. On December 15, the City extended the law through March 31, 2021.
Sacramento County
On September 1, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved a supplemental sick leave ordinance that applies to employers located within the unincorporated areas of the County that have 500 or more employees nationwide. The ordinance will remain in effect until December 31, 2020. On December 15, the Board of Supervisors extended the ordinance through March 31, 2021.
San Mateo County
On July 7, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors enacted an ordinance requiring employers to provide temporary emergency paid sick for leave related to COVID-19. On December 8, the Board of Supervisors extended the ordinance through June 30, 2021.
Sonoma County
On August 18, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors enacted an emergency paid sick leave ordinance requiring employers to provide leave related to COVID-19. The ordinance took effect immediately and will remain in effect until December 31, 2020 (unless extended). On February 2, 2021 the ordinance was extended it through June 30, 2021. On June 8, 2021, the County Board of Supervisors passed an urgency ordinance to amend and extend the ordinance noting the need to extend the expiration date and update its COVID-19 related paid sick leave ordinances to align with California’s 2021 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave law. The Ordinance will now expire on September 30, 2021, unless extended by the County.
Santa Rosa
On July 7, the City of Santa Rosa passed a local ordinance temporarily expanding emergency paid sick leave for employees within Santa Rosa city limits. The ordinance sunset on December 31, 2020, however, on February 2, 2021, the Santa Rosa City Council voted to extend and make changes to the ordinance through March 31, 2021.
Santa Monica
On March 12, the city of Santa Monica issued guidance to employers to comply with Santa Monica’s existing Paid Sick Leave Ordinance during the COVID-19 public health emergency, and reminding businesses of the “need to respect workers’ rights to stay home when sick.” The Santa Monica law requires employers with 25 or fewer employees performing work within the City of Santa Monica to provide a minimum of 40 hours of paid sick leave, and employers with 26 or more employees to provide 72 hours of paid sick leave.
San Diego
The San Diego City Council passed a temporary COVID-19 Supplemental Sick Leave Ordinance requiring employers in the City of San Diego with 500 or more employees to provide public health emergency leave consistent with the FFCRA. The ordinance is set to expire December 31, 2020, unless extended.
Long Beach
On May 19, the Long Beach City Council approved an a COVID-19 Paid Supplemental Sick Leave Ordinance. Employers must provide full-time employees performing work within the City of Long Beach with 80 hours of paid sick leave and part-time employees the amount of hours equal to the number of hours worked on average over a two (2) week period. The ordinance is revisited every 90 days via a report submitted to City Council by the city manager for a determination of whether to continue the ordinance.
Colorado
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment adopted an emergency rule on March 11, that temporarily requires employers in certain industries to provide up to four consecutive calendar days of paid sick leave to allow sick employees to obtain COVID-19 testing or who are under instruction from a health care provider to quarantine or isolate due to risk of having COVID-19. The rule covers employees in the following industries: leisure and hospitality; retail stores that sell groceries; food and beverage manufacturing; food services; childcare; education; home health; nursing homes; and community living facilities. For additional information, see this FAQ.
New Jersey
New Jersey’s Department of Labor updated its guidance on New Jersey’s Earned Sick Leave Law to specifically permit an employee who tests positive or has symptoms of COVID-19 and is unable to work, to use earned sick leave time.
New York
On March 18, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo enacted Senate Bill 9081 (New York Emergency Paid Sick Leave) providing immediate job-protected sick leave and assistance to New Yorkers impacted by COVID-19. Employers are now required to provide paid sick leave to any “employee who is subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation issued by the state of New York, the department of health, local board of health, or governmental entity duly authorized to issue such order to COVID-19.”
An employee eligible for both paid sick leave under the New York Emergency Paid Sick Leave and under the FFCRA may claim additional leave benefits available under the New York law that exceed what the FFCRA allows. In this scenario, the employee is entitled to the federal benefits, plus the difference in benefits available under the New York Emergency Paid Sick Leave.
For additional information please visit our blog post.
New York City
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection has provided guidance encouraging employers to allow employees additional leave “as needed” for sickness, quarantine, or for other uses related to COVID-19 under New York City’s Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law. New York City has not mandated any additional requirements at this time.
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
The City of Philadelphia has issued a supplemental emergency regulation in light of COVID-19, allowing for expanded use of accrued leave under the city’s paid sick leave law.
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s City Council passed a Temporary COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, which requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide COVID-19 specific sick leave in addition to the employer’s existing leave policies. This law was in effect from December 8, 2020 through June 17, 2021.
On July 29, 2021, Mayor Bill Peduto signed a new Temporary COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, which will become Section 626B of the City of Pittsburgh Code and requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide up to 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave to full-time employees (and a proportional amount for part-time employees) for certain COVID-19-related reasons. 626B is nearly identical to Pittsburgh’s original ordinance referenced above, however, employers should note the additional qualifying reasons related to an employee’s family member receiving the vaccine. This law will remain in effect through July 29, 2022.
Washington
Seattle Paid Sick and Safe Time
On April 8, the Seattle Office of Labor Standards adopted an emergency rule on practices for administering the Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance as it relates to COVID-19. Namely, employers may not require a doctor’s note or healthcare provider verification for an employee’s use of paid sick/safe time, regardless of whether the employee seeks to use the time for COVID-19 related reasons.
Washington, D.C.
On May 27, 2020 and July 7, 2020, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law the D.C. COVID-19 Support Emergency Amendment Act and the Coronavirus Support Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2020 which replaced all previous COVID-related legislation and temporarily amended the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act and D.C. Family and Medical Leave Act to create new COVID-19 leave. COVID-19 related leave is only available for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency. As of the writing of this article the leave expansion has been extended through December 31, 2020, however should the Mayor extend the declared COVID-19 public health emergency beyond that date it is likely that the leave expansion will be extended again.
Final Thoughts
State and local responses to the pandemic are ongoing and dynamic from day to day. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of every state and local action with respect to sick leave taken in response to COVID-19. Our compliance team continues to monitor legislation closely and will update this article accordingly as new legislation is released.
Disclaimer: This content is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, medical or tax advice. It provides general information and is not intended to encompass all compliance and legal obligations that may be applicable. This information and any questions as to your specific circumstances should be reviewed with your respective legal counsel and/or tax advisor as we do not provide legal or tax advice. Please note that this information may be subject to change based on legislative changes. © 2021 Sequoia Benefits & Insurance Services, LLC. All Rights Reserved
