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© 2022 American Payroll Institute, Inc. California Reinstates and Adds Additional COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Requirements Effective retroactive to January 1, 2022, but with employer requirements beginning on February 19, 2022 (10 days after the date of enactment – February 9), California has reinstated many of the COVID-19-related supplemental paid sick leave (PSL) provisions that expired on September 30, 2021. These provisions will be in effect until September 30, 2022 [S.B. 114, L. 2022]. Supplemental PSL provisions reinstated Employers with more than 25 employees will be required to provide up to one week or 40 hours of additional COVID-19 supplemental PSL to employees unable to work or telework because the employee is: (1) subject to quarantine or isolation related to COVID-19 as defined by the state Department of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or a local health officer who has jurisdiction over the workplace (2) advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19 (3) attending an appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or a vaccine booster (4) experiencing symptoms related to a COVID-19 vaccine or a vaccine booster that prevents the employee from being able to work (5) experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, and is seeking a medical diagnosis (6) caring for a family member who is subject to quarantine or isolation or (7) caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed due to COVID-19. Additional requirements Vaccine or booster appointment. A covered employee is also entitled to up to one week or 40 hours of COVID-19 supplemental PSL if the employee is unable to work or telework because the employee is: (1) attending an appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or a vaccine booster for the employee’s family member, or (2) caring for a family member who has symptoms from a COVID-19 vaccine or a vaccine booster. Side effects, documentation. An employer may limit the total COVID-19 supplemental PSL for symptoms from each vaccination or vaccine booster to three days or 24 hours unless the employee provides verification from a health care provider that the covered employee or their family member is continuing to experience symptoms related to a COVID-19 vaccine or a vaccine booster. Positive COVID-19 test results, documentation. A covered employee is entitled, in addition to the COVID-19 supplemental PSL already described, to take up to 40 more hours of COVID-19 supplemental PSL if the covered employee, or a family member for whom the covered employee is providing care, tests positive for COVID-19. The employer is authorized to require the covered employee, if that employee tests positive, to submit to another test on or after the fifth day after the first positive test and provide documentation of those results. The employer is also authorized to require the covered employee to provide documentation of a family member’s test result before paying the additional COVID-19 supplemental PSL. If the employee refuses to provide documentation of a test result, the employer has no obligation to provide additional COVID-19 supplemental PSL. Pay statement notification. The employer is required to provide an employee with written notice – on either the employee’s itemized pay statement or in a separate writing provided on the designated pay date with the employee’s payment of wages – providing the amount of COVID-19 supplemental PSL the employee has used through the pay period in which it was due to be paid. If the employee has not used any COVID-19 supplemental PSL, then the notification should list zero hours used. COVID-19 supplemental PSL must be listed separately from "regular" non-COVID-19-related PSL on the pay statement or separate writing. This requirement will not be enforced until the full pay period following the effective date of the law (February 9, 2022). Amount of leave. Full-time employees and employees scheduled to work, on average, at least 40 hours per week for the employer in the two weeks preceding the date the COVID-19 supplemental PSL is taken, will be entitled to 40 hours of COVID-19 supplemental PSL. This amount is in addition to the amount of PSL that must be provided under the regular PSL law (Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act), and in addition to requirements under prior COVID-19 supplemental PSL laws. Compensation rate. For nonexempt employees, each hour of COVID-19 supplemental PSL for nonexempt employees must be compensated based on the highest pay rate equal to the following: (1) calculated in the same manner as the regular rate of pay for the workweek in which the employee uses COVID-19 supplemental PSL (2) calculated by dividing the total wages, not including overtime premium pay, by the total hours worked, in the full pay period of the prior 90 days worked (3) the state minimum wage or (4) the local minimum wage. For exempt employees, the COVID-19 supplemental PSL should be calculated in the same manner used to calculate wages for other forms of paid leave time. Guidance, resources. The Labor Commissioner’s Office has provided guidance and resources on the new law on its website. February 21, 2022 Volume 24 Issue 4