Navigating California’s Sick Leave Laws: Your Entitlements as an Employee
California has successfully established all the necessary employee laws to provide a better workplace environment for employees. California sick leave law is one of those crucial laws. As an employee, you have legal rights to take Paid Sick Leave or PSL. The article below will discuss this topic further for your better understanding.
Entitlements of the employees under California sick leave law
If you have been employed for at least 30 days in a calendar year, you will be eligible to take paid sick leave. All the full-time, part-time, and temporary workers can avail of PSL. There are some exceptions such as:
- You can not demand a paid sick leave if you work for the city, state, or US government.
- When you are subjected to a collective bargaining agreement.
- When you provide in-home supportive service.
- You cannot ask for unused paid sick leave if you quit or get fired.
According to the sick leave law, you can get a minimum of one hour’s leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers can limit the annual sick leave accrual to 24 hours or 3 days. You will get regular payment on the regular payday during your paid sick leave.
What qualifies as sick leave in California?
You will be qualified for sick leave to take care of yourself as well as your family members. You can take paid sick leave for the medical treatment of an existing condition or preventive care. You can leave to attend to a seriously ill family member. Those family members can be your:
- Child, stepchild, foster child, or adopted child
- Spouse or registered domestic partner
- Parent
- Sibling
- Grandchild
- Grandparent or
- Designated person.
Can an employer deny sick leave?
Getting a paid sick leave is your legal right. Your employer can not deny your sick leave under the regulation of state laws. Also, you can sue your employer if he refuses to grant you the sick leave law. In that case, you can take suggestions from an experienced lawyer or contact a law enforcement agency to resolve your issue. You can recover damages like back pay, administrative penalties, interest on back pay payment for withheld sick days, etc.
What should I do when my employer retaliates against me?
Your employer is not allowed to fire you or show any hostile behavior like harassment, or discrimination when you ask for paid sick leave. If you face retaliation from your employer, you should contact the California Labor Commissioner’s Office as soon as possible.
Final Words
Paid sick leave allows employees to take time off for serious medical conditions of the employee or his family members. If your conditions align with the provision of this law, you can take this leave. If your employer does not cooperate, you can sue him or file a lawsuit against him in court. Hopefully, the above-mentioned information on California sick leave law will be beneficial for you to pursue your leave.
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