Extension to COVID-19-Relief Bill
Extension to COVID-19-Relief Bill
Current state law was set to expire, but California extended the 2022 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave law (“SPSL”), the law that requires employers with 26 or more employees to provide supplemental paid sick leave to employees for COVID-19 related qualifying reasons. September 30, 2022, providing for COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave for covered employees who are unable to work due to certain COVID-19 reasons and entitled a covered employee to 40-hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave. It is now extended through December 31, 2022.
As a reminder, there are eight qualifying reasons for employees who are unable to work due to COVID 19:
1. The covered employee is subject to a quarantine or isolation period related to COVID-19 as defined by an order or guidance of the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”), the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), or a local public health officer who has jurisdiction over the workplace;
2. The covered employee has been advised by a health care provider to isolate or quarantine due to COVID-19;
3. The covered employee is attending an appointment for themselves or a family member to receive a vaccine or a vaccine booster for protection against COVID-19;
4. The covered employee is experiencing symptoms, or caring for a family member experiencing symptoms, related to a COVID-19 vaccine or vaccine booster that prevent the employee from being able to work or telework;
5. The covered employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis;
6. The covered employee is caring for a family member who:
- •Is subject to a CDPH, CDC, or local health officer order or guidance to isolate or quarantine, or
- •Has been advised by a health care provider to isolate or quarantine;
7. The covered 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; or
8. The covered employee, or a family member for whom the covered employee is providing care, tests positive for COVID-19.
This bill provides that an employer has no obligation to provide additional COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave if an employee has already used their COVID-19 leave earlier in the year or refuses to submit the required tests. The bill also authorizes an employer to require; if the diagnostic test is positive, the employee to submit to a second diagnostic test within 24 hours at no cost to the employee.
The bill will offer relief to small businesses by establishing the California Small Business and Nonprofit COVID-19 Relief Grant Program within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-BIZ). The program is to provide grants of up to $50,000; but no more than the actual costs incurred for supplemental paid sick leave between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, to qualified small businesses and nonprofit organizations.
As a result of these amendments, employers should advise their employees that they may be subject to an additional follow-up COVID-19 test in the event that they request supplemental paid sick leave for COVID-19 and that, in order to receive (SPSL) for such reason, employees will need to provide documentation of such test results.
Here at Epps & Coulson, LLP we understand all of these COVID laws may be confusing. We are available to advise and help you implement policies to protect you. Contact Dawn at: dcoulson@eppscoulson.com
Information contained in this Memo is intended for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinion, nor is it a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney. It is considered advertising under laws of some states. Epps & Coulson, LLP encourages you to call to discuss these.
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