On March 19, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsome signed a new Covid-19 Supplemental Paid Leave (“SPSL”) into law. The new SPSL is similar to the prior Covid-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave law that expired on December 31, 2020. The new law came into effect on March 29, 2021 and applies retroactively to January 1, 2021. The key and important issues to understand are as follows:

Covered Employers: All employers with 26 or more employees are covered by the new SPSL.

Covered Employees: The new law added 5 additional types of coverages that did not exist in the prior laws. The covered employees include:

• If the employee is subject to quarantine or isolation due to Covid-19.
• The employee is attending an appointment to receive a vaccine for protection.
• The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to Covid-19.
• The employee is experiencing symptoms related to the Covid-19 vaccine that prevents the employee from working including teleworking.
• The employee is experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 and is seeking a medical diagnosis.
• The employee is caring for a family member who is subject to quarantine or isolation period or has been advised to quarantine by a health care provider due to concerns related to Covid-19.
• The employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed or unavailable for reasons related to Covid-19.

Amount of leave:
Full time employees who work at least 40 hours in the two weeks prior to taking the SPSL leave are eligible for up to 80 hours of SPSL leave.

Part-time employees are entitled to the number of hours they are normally scheduled for two weeks. If that number varies, then the employee is eligible for fourteen times the average number of hours they worked each day over the previous six months.

Amount of Pay:
Non-exempt employees must receive SPSL at the highest of their regular rate of pay or total wages not including overtime, divided by the total hours worked in the full pay periods of the prior 90 days of employment, or the state minimum wage or local minimum wage.

Exempt employees must receive the same pay as the employer calculates wages for other forms of paid leave.

Pay is capped at $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate.

Interaction with paid sick leave: Paid leave under SPSL is in addition to any paid sick leave provided by an employer and an employer cannot require that an employee first use available paid sick leave before allowing the employee to receive SPSL.

Notice and Paystub requirements: Employers are required to provide notice to employees of their right to SPSL via email or other electronic means for employees who don’t come to the workplace. The Labor Commissioner has issued a model notification. Click here to get the model posting. The SPSL received must also be set forth in the employee’s paystub.

Retroactivity: The new SPSL applies retroactively to January 1, 2021. Upon request, the employer must provide retroactive payments to employees who would have been eligible if the employee did not receive compensation for any leave covered by the SPSL.

Expiration: The new SPSL expires September 30, 2021.

Reach out for help

We will continue to update you on Covid-19 leave issues. Should you have any questions about this leave, please contact Scott Liner at [email protected] or call Chase Law Group at 310.545.7700.