CAAA: Aftermath of Supplemental Paid Sick Leave

Monday, November 8, 2021 | 0

In late September, an important benefit ended for California workers: supplemental paid sick leave.

Initially arising out of SB 95, the law required private and public employers of 25 employees or more to provide up to 80 hours of paid sick leave for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including absences due to self-isolation or quarantine, and obtaining and recovering from vaccinations, among others.

As of Nov. 1, no legislation has been introduced or passed extending this specific paid leave despite the continuous spread of COVID-19 and its variants.

Many employers that fit the bill — and followed the law — granted their employees SPSL. But in recent weeks, the labor commissioner’s office has found that many did not.

It cited Bodega Latina, dba El Super grocery stores, in the Southern California region for $1,164,500 for failing to provide or delaying supplemental paid sick leave or other benefits to 240 workers at 38 locations affected by COVID-19.

An investigation found that some workers were forced to work while sick while others were told to apply for unemployment while quarantining or in isolation, and others waited for months to be paid.

This was the second time El Super was fined. The first time occurred in July and the company was cited for nearly a half-million dollars for violations related to the same.

The problem with the paid sick leave program ending is the fact that many employees are continuing to run the risk of going to work and exposing others, since COVID-19 and its variants have not disappeared.

Employees are left with very few options if they are infected.

Other leave programs that are available to employees include exclusion pay, which provides employees regular pay for 10 or more days if they are available to work but must quarantine due to a workplace exposure, or they can choose to take eight weeks of paid family leave or simply file a workers’ compensation claim.

Unfortunately, some of these programs are not available to employees like domestic workers, day laborers and others in certain industries where the pandemic hit particularly hard.

As for employers, they may wonder what they are obligated to do if an employee contracts COVID-19, experiences symptoms of COVID-19 or needs to take time off to care for a sick family member or a child if there is a school closure.

Only time will tell.

This opinion is republished, with permission, from the California Applicants' Attorneys Association website.