Labor & Employment Law Blog

• The DLSE clarifies that new Labor Code Section 2810.5 Notices must be provided to current non-exempt employees who were hired prior to January 1, 2015.  The FAQ states that an updated notice must be provided within seven days of the actual change (if any) to the employer’s sick leave policy.  The DLSE also states that new notices must also be provided where the employer’s policy is unchanged.

• Therefore, according to the DLSE, the new notice must be provided within seven days of the change to the employer’s sick leave policy, or if no change has been made to the policy, no later than July 8, 2015.  Previously, the DLSE had stated only that the notice must be provided “after January 1, 2015.”

• Employers may use the revised DLSE model notice form, or may use an authorized alternative method of communication, which the DLSE describes in its FAQ as including “notice of change in a pay stub or itemized wage statement.”

• According to the DLSE, employees who work an alternative workweek schedule of four days per week, ten hours per day are entitled to take and be paid for up to 30 hours of leave per year.  Although not specifically addressed by the DLSE, this means employees who work an alternative schedule of three days per week, twelve hours per day, appear entitled to take and be paid for up to 36 hours of leave per year.  Although the DLSE’s explanations are no model of clarity, it appears the DLSE interprets the phrase “24 hours or three days” as the greater of the two numbers, whichever favors the employee.

• The DLSE also states that employees who work fewer than eight hours per day will be entitled to use up to 24 accrued hours of leave per year.  Thus, an employee who works a six-hour day will be entitled to take four six-hour days or 24 hours of leave per year.

• The FAQ states that seasonal employees who separate from their employers and return within one year of the separation will be entitled to have all accrued sick leave restored and can begin to use their accrued leave once they have worked for a combined 90 days.

For more information on the sick leave law, please see our prior Alerts and blogs  If you have any further questions regarding the sick leave law, please consult your labor and employment counsel.