2127 - Covid-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave 2022 (Historical View)

** Effective: 10/21/2022 10:36:23 AM - 2/12/2024 3:20:35 PM **

Status: Active

Change Notes

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Category

Leave

Audience List

Synopsis

This policy

Introduction

Labor Code section 248.6 (LC 248.6) provides supplemental paid sick leave to all employees for the reasons listed in the section below and expires December 31, 2022.

Statement

COVID-19 SUPPLEMENTAL PAID SICK LEAVE 2022

Per LC 248.6 SPSL is retroactive to January 1, 2022, applies to all employees, including retired annuitants, and is in addition to the employee’s other available leave balances. SPSL as defined in LC 248.6 is separate from other COVID-19 sick leave benefits prior to January 1, 2022. Assembly Bill 152 extended the expiration date of SPSL to December 31, 2022 and does not provide employees with any additional SPSL to use, but merely extends the period during which employees who have not exhausted their SPSL allotments may use such leave.

For purposes of this policy, a family member is defined in California Labor Code, section 245.5, subdivision (c), and includes child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, and sibling.

Employees may be eligible to take up to 40 hours (firefighters may be eligible for more) of SPSL if they are unable to work or telework due to any of the following reasons:

  1.  The employee is subject to a quarantine or isolation period related to COVID-19 as defined by an order or guidance of the State Department of Public Health, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or a local public health officer who has jurisdiction over the workplace.
    • If the employee is subject to more than one of the above, the covered employee shall be permitted to use COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave for the minimum quarantine or isolation period under the order or guidance that provides the longest period; or
  2. The employee is advised by a health care provider to isolate or self-quarantine due to a COVID-19 concern or tests positive; or
  3. The employee is attending an appointment for themselves or a family member to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or vaccine booster that prevents the employee from being able to work or telework; or
  4. The employee is experiencing symptoms or is caring for a family member related to a COVID-19 vaccine or vaccine booster that prevents the employee from being able to work or telework; or 
    •  For each vaccine or vaccine booster, paid sick leave for this purpose may be limited 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. The limitation includes any time used under number 3 above to obtain the vaccine.
  5. The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and is seeking a medical diagnosis; or
  6. The employee is caring for a family member who is subject to an order or guidance under number 1 or who has been advised to isolate or quarantine under number 2; or
  7. The employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed or otherwise unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19 on the premises.

The employee’s time base determines the number of SPSL hours the employee is entitled to receive at their regular rate of pay:

Additional SPSL and Obligations

Employees may be eligible to take an additional amount of SPSL not to exceed what the employee was entitled to in the above section, if the covered employee, or family member who the employee is caring for, tests positive for COVID-19.

If the employee tests positive, departments should follow current testing guidelines. Additionally, LC 248.6 allows departments to require employees who have tested positive to submit to a diagnostic test on or after the fifth (5th) day after the initial COVID-19 test was taken and provide documentation of these results. If the diagnostic test is positive, the employer may require a second diagnostic test after 24-hours has passed. Importantly, in such a circumstance, the department shall make tests available at no cost to the employee. If departments choose to require a test on or after the fifth (5th) day, they must provide the employee a home test or secure an appointment for a test on behalf of the employee. Departments are not required to provide SPSL if the department requires test results and the employee refuses to provide the test result. Such tests shall not be done at the worksite. Additionally, testing shall meet the requirements set forth in the Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Emergency Temporary Standards (Cal/OSHA ETS).

If the employee requests additional SPSL due to a positive test for a family member for whom they provide care, the department may require that the employee provide documentation of that family member’s test results before providing the additional leave. Employers who require diagnostic test results are not obligated to provide SPSL if the employee refuses to provide the results. The total number of SPSL may not exceed 80 hours. In addition, this policy does not limit an employer’s duties to comply with the Cal/OSHA ETS.

Availability and Retroactivity of SPSL

The effective date of SPSL is January 1, 2022. Per the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and LC 248.6, employers shall make this leave available to eligible employees upon the oral or written request of the employee to the employer. In certain circumstances and as outlined in DIR’s frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) employers may require test results prior to providing the leave. A link to the FAQ’s is provided in the Resources section below.

Employees may retroactively use SPSL back to January 1, 2022, upon verbal or written request and the employer shall provide the covered employee with a retroactive payment if the request meets one of the covered reasons. Additionally, departments may require an employee to provide documentation of a positive diagnostic test for the relevant period of retroactive use. Retroactive use also requires an amended timesheet signed by the employee and their supervisor. Retroactive payments shall be paid to the employee on or before the payday for the next full pay period after the oral or written request of the employee.

If an eligible employee is otherwise entitled to receive Industrial Disability Leave (IDL) or Enhanced Industrial Disability Leave (EIDL), the use of SPSL shall not count against the employee’s maximum IDL or EIDL entitlement. An eligible employee may receive SPSL during the waiting period for IDL or EIDL.

Employers shall not discharge, discipline, or otherwise discriminate against any employee based upon the employee’s use of SPSL.

Notice Requirements

The California Labor Commissioner's Office will make a publicly available notice for SPSL. For employees who do not frequent a workplace, the employer can satisfy the notice requirement by distributing the notice through email.

Expiration

The SPSL expires on December 31, 2022, except that a covered employee taking SPSL at the time of expiration shall be permitted to take the full amount without interruption to which the employee otherwise would have been entitled in the section above.

Historical Information

Prior versions of this policy provide detailed information on previous COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave programs. Prior versions can be found by clicking the View History link at the bottom of the page.

Application

Tracking

Departments utilizing the California Leave Accounting System (CLAS) will follow the State Controller’s Office (SCO) instructions for keying the SPSL sick leave using the ATO usage code. Departments that do not utilize CLAS must ensure their leave accounting system can track this leave usage separately and can provide a leave usage report. If a leave accounting system does not exist, departments must develop a mechanism to manually track and report this leave. The report must include the employee’s name, hours used, and total amount of the paid benefit for the employee.

Timesheet Documentation

Employees must clearly document on their timesheet in the comments section or location as defined by the department that SPSL is being utilized. The documentation on the timesheet should clearly identify the reason leave is being used. For example: if leave is used due to a positive test or the employee is experiencing symptoms from the vaccine, it should be clearly stated in the comments section. In addition, the employee should document the time off as ATO for the applicable days and hours the leave is used.

Intermittent Leave Use

Eligible employees may use SPSL leave intermittently if they are unable to work or telework to care for an employee’s child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) due to COVID-19 on the premises. Additionally, if an eligible employee who is teleworking away from the normal worksite is unable to work or telework due to any of the qualifying reasons the employee may use SPSL intermittently. For example, SPSL may be used in increments if the employee is teleworking due to exposure and subsequently becomes sick with COVID-19 and can no longer telework.

Additional Information

Departments received an email from the Department of Human Resources, Personnel Services Branch allowing departments to use their ATO delegation and provide employees time off to obtain their COVID-19 vaccines, including any COVID-19 booster vaccine recommendations. This information remains unchanged and departments should still provide ATO for this purpose. ATO for this purpose does not need to be tracked using the mechanism above, and is not counted against the employee's SPSL entitlement. Departments are reminded to keep records of all ATO on file for audit purposes and to substantiate the reasons for any ATO provided to employees for any reason.

Authorities

Resources

FAQs

Web Pages

Authorized By

Melissa Russell
Chief, Personnel Management Division

Contact Person

Personnel Services Branch
Personnel Program Consultant, , Personnel Services Branch
Phone: 916-323-3343
Fax: 916-327-1886
Email: psb@calhr.ca.gov

Superseded Policies

Not Applicable.