California and Federal Requirements for Paid Sick Leave - Conflicts and Jurisdiction

Why Should You Attend:

Currently there are no federal legal requirements for paid sick leave… but the horizon puts the informed HR professional on notice. This year, paid sick leave laws seem primed to extend paid sick leave across the board. Recently Governor Brown in California signed AB 1522, and as amended in AB 301, the CA Paid Sick Leave Law which became effective in July 2015. Soon after, President Obama signed EO 13706 requiring federal contractors to allow employees to earn paid sick leave.

Many employers already offer their employees at least three days of paid sick leave or other paid time off (PTO). Some of these employers are mistaken in assuming that the new laws will not affect them. This webinar will explore how these laws apply to virtually all employees who work 30 or more days within a year. This includes part-time, temporary, and seasonal employees, who often are not covered by existing sick leave and PTO policies. In California, the Act (and other related changes in AB 1522) also subjects California employers to new posting, notice, and recordkeeping requirements - reminding all employers not to take these changes lightly.

Learning Objectives:

This in-depth webinar will take attendees through the key provisions of both the California law as well as consistent trends in other jurisdictions including the area of federal contracting. It will specifically discuss:

• Overview of the key intent for establishing paid sick leave programs and policies
• The finer points of California law and how that relates to trends spotted all across America
• Unanswered questions and what to do about them now
• Key policy considerations to think about

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• How qualifying employees accrue and take paid sick leave
• Measurement periods
• Policy caps - should you consider them?
• Accrual vs leave banks
• Notifications and certifications
• Recordkeeping requirements
• Notice requirements

Who Will Benefit:

• HR Managers
• HR Administrators
• Employment and Employee Relations Managers
• HR Practitioners
• HR Leaders and Team Leads
• Business Owners

Instructor Profile:

Cathleen Hampton has more than 25 years of experience as a human resources professional providing subject matter expertise in areas such as human capital and work force planning. She has a unique ability to analyze operations for risk and help maneuver cultural practices and compliance enhancements that would increase organizational outcomes. As a dyed in the wool HR professional, she continually looks for ways to capture the essence of strategic thought as it would relate to human capital and workforce planning. She is noted for launching new programs focused on talent acquisition and retention strategies that outpaced major completion through strong and decisive business leadership.

Topic Background:

With cold and flu season beginning, it’s a good time for employers to revisit their company sick leave policies. But it’s especially important in places where laws have recently mandated that private companies provide their employees with paid sick days. That includes Massachusetts, where voters approved a statewide sick leave mandate.

So far, the new laws are in effect in just a handful of cities, starting with San Francisco in 2007, and the state of Connecticut. Earlier this year, New York City became the largest jurisdiction to implement mandatory sick leave, affecting more than 1 million people who previously had to forgo pay to stay home sick. An estimated 6.5 million workers are estimated to benefit from at least three paid sick days annually since California’s mandate went into July 2015 where ALL employers, both public and private, will be required to provide paid sick leave to all of their employees, with a few exceptions.

Because of this trend, it’s a good time to review and update policies and handbooks to properly describe the benefits being passed into law. Without a doubt, especially in California, employers should not assume that simply having a sick leave or PTO policy is sufficient. The existing policy must meet the legal accrual, cap, and reinstatement rules. Additionally, employers with adequate pre-existing policies still must comply with other requirements, including notice, posting, and recordkeeping; and also must meet the revised Wage Theft Notice requirement.

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