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Current Law
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Beginning Jan. 1, 2024
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Definition of family member
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A family member is defined as the employee’s:
· Child, step-child, adopted child, foster child, or adult child;
· Spouse;
· Sibling;
· Parent, step-parent, mother-in-law, or father-in-law;
· Grandchild;
· Grandparent;
· Registered domestic partner;
· Any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
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The definition of a family member is expanded and defined as the employee’s:
· Child, including foster child, adult child, legal ward, child for whom the employee is legal guardian or child to whom the employee stands or stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent);
· Spouse or registered domestic partner;
· Sibling, step-sibling, or foster sibling;
· Biological, adoptive or foster parent, step-parent, or a person who stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent) when the employee was a minor child;
· Grandchild, foster grandchild or step-grandchild;
· Grandparent or step-grandparent;
· A child of a sibling of the employee;
· A sibling of the parents of the employee;
· A child-in-law or sibling-in-law;
· Any of the family members listed above of an employee’s spouse or domestic partner;
· Any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship; and
· Up to one individual annually designated by the employee.
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Carryover of accrued leave
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Employers must permit employees to carry over accrued but unused paid sick leave into the following year. However, employers may cap total accrual at 80 hours.
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Employers must permit employees to carry over accrued but unused sick leave into the following year. Employers may cap total accrual at 80 hours.
In lieu of allowing carryover into the following year, an employer may provide an employee with paid sick leave for the year that meets or exceeds the requirements of the ordinance that is available for the employee's immediate use at the beginning of the subsequent year as follows:
· 48 hours, if an employer pays an employee for accrued but unused paid sick leave at the end of a year at the same hourly rate as an employee earns from employment; or
· 80 hours, if an employer doesn’t pay an employee for accrued but unused paid sick leave at the end of a year at the same or greater hourly rate as an employee earns from employment.
Note: Employers must apply the same accrual/frontloading method to all employees.
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Use
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Employees may use accrued leave beginning 90 calendar days after the start of their employment. After 90 calendar days of employment, employees may use sick leave as it is accrued.
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Employees may use accrued leave as it is accrued.
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An employee may use accrued sick leave for the following reasons:
· The employee’s or a family member’s:
· Mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition;
· Need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or
· Need for preventive medical care;
· When the employee or family member is a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking.
· The closure of the employee's place of business by order of a public official to limit exposure to an infectious agent, biological toxin, or hazardous material or other public health emergency.
· To care for a family member whose school or place of care has been closed due to inclement weather, loss of power, loss of heating, loss of water, or other unexpected closure.
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An employee may use sick leave for:
§ The employee’s or a family member’s mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventive care;
§ Absence due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking of the employee or a family member;
§ Closure of the employee’s workplace due to weather or public emergency or closure of a family member’s school or care facility due to weather or public emergency;
§ When determined by a health authority or healthcare professional that the employee or family member is at risk of infecting others with a communicable disease; and
§ The employee's inability to work or telework because the employee is: (i) prohibited from working by the employer due to health concerns related to the potential transmission of a communicable illness related to a public emergency; or (ii) seeking or awaiting the results of a diagnostic test for, or a medical diagnosis of, a communicable disease related to a public emergency and such employee has been exposed to a communicable disease or the employee's employer has requested a test or diagnosis.
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Employee notice
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Employers must provide sick leave upon request of an employee. When possible, the employee must include in the request the expected duration of the absence. An employer may require an employee to comply with the employer's usual and customary notice and procedural requirements for absences or for requesting leave, provided that such requirements do not interfere with the purposes for which the leave is needed.
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If the need for use is foreseeable, employers may require up to 7 days’ advance notice of the need for leave. If the need is not foreseeable, an employer may require an employee to give notice of the need for leave as soon as practical. An employer that requires notice of the need to use paid sick leave must have a written policy containing reasonable procedures for employees to provide notice and must provide a written copy of such policy to employees.
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Documentation
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If the absence is more than three consecutive days, the employer may require reasonable documentation that the absence is covered by the ordinance. The employer must give the employees at least 14 days from the date they return to work to provide such documentation.
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If the absence is more than three consecutive days, the employer may require reasonable documentation that the absence is covered by the ordinance. See the text of the ordinance for details on what is considered reasonable documentation.
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Employer notice, wage statements and recordkeeping
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Employers must provide notice to employee about their rights under the ordinance. To comply with this requirement, employers may post a notice in a conspicuous and accessible place in each establishment where covered employees are employed. Employers must distribute or post written policies on paid sick leave. The city has developed a poster and model notice.
Upon employee request, the employer must provide, in writing or electronically, the amount of leave the employee has available and the amount they used. Employers can choose a reasonable system for providing this notification, including, but not limited to, listing the information on each pay stub, or implementing an online system where employees can access their own information.
Employers must maintain accurate records for each employee showing the amount of hours worked in the city as well as the accrual and use of sick leave. The records must be retained for a period of at least three years. An employer must allow an employee to inspect records upon request.
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Employers must provide notice to employees about their rights under the law. The notice must include specified information and must be provided in English and the primary language of the employee. The notice must be provided by Jan. 1, 2024, or at the start of employment, whichever is later.The city will prepare a uniform employee notice that employers can use and will make it available in English and other languages.
The means used by the employer must be at least as effective as the following options for providing notice:
· Posting a copy of the notice at each location where employees perform work and where the notice must be readily observed and easily reviewed by all employees performing work.
· Providing a paper or electronic copy of the notice to employees; or
· A conspicuous posting in a web-based or app-based platform through which an employee performs work.
Employers that provide an employee handbook to their employees must include in the handbook the notice of employee rights under the law.
Upon employee request, the employer must provide, in writing or electronically, the amount of leave the employee has available and the amount they used. Employers can choose a reasonable system for providing this notification, including, but not limited to, listing the information on each pay stub, or implementing an online system where employees can access their own information.
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