Still have Questions About CA Paid Sick Leave?

The CA Paid Sick Leave law has still be a source of confusion and frustration for many small businesses. Unfortunately the powers that be do not understand the complexity of running a small business AND trying to navigate the State and Federal labor laws.

So, we’ve compiled some of the most frequent questions we get with simple answers to help you in your daily battle:

Can we discipline employees for taking too much time off if they have sick pay available?
No, employees are under the legal statutes of the Paid Sick Leave law while they have sick pay accrual available. If an employee has used their available sick pay, or refuses to use their available sick pay, and continues to have excessive absences, you can begin to reprimand them for attendance.

What if our employees are calling in sick and NOT using their sick day pay? 
When an employee calls out, you should always ask them “will you be using your sick time for this day”, if they say “no”, let them know it will be an unexcused absence.    Then you can write them up if they seem to be repeat offenders.

Can we require a doctor’s note if someone calls out sick? 
The Paid Sick Leave law doesn’t specifically address whether you can request a doctor’s note or proof of illness. The law suggests that doing so many be construed as an attempt to deprive an employee of their mandatory sick leave. You may ask for certification for unscheduled absences in  the case of victims of sexual assault, domestic violence or stalking. You are however, free to request a doctor’s note for sick beyond the three-day minimum, or if employees are out for a while on disability.

Are we able to ask more details about why they called out other then “not feeling well”? 
No, because the more we know the more they can claim discrimination and it is a privacy issue.

Are we able to just apply the sick pay to their check without their consent? 
No, this is a violation of the sick leave law, they must request it.  If the company uses their sick time without them asking, then when they really are sick and have none to use, the employee can claim a violation of the law because they should have protected leave available to them.

Can we request that employees call out before a shift a minimum of 2 hours before?
The law doesn’t specify how much advance notice an employee must give to use their mandatory sick leave. The law does state that you are required to provide an employee with the sick day after a verbal or a written request. However, you may create policies for sick leave awarded above and beyond the three-day mandatory minimum. For these days, you could request one or two hours’ notice in order to use additional paid sick leave.

Is there a Memo to Update Employees on this subject and requirements?
The law has not changed since 2015.  It is included in the labor law poster and the posting.  And it should be a written policy in your employee handbook.  If you need a set of Fed/State posters, please contact Infinium today