Top 10 Questions about California’s New COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Law with Retroactive Paid Time Off
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 95 on March 19, 2021, which creates new Labor Code section 248.2 and mandates that public and private employers with 26 or more employees provide supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) for COVID-related absences in addition to paid time off benefits employees receive by law or policy. The law goes into effect on March 29, 2021, applies retroactively to January 1, 2021, and is effective through September 30, 2021. To help employers understand the new law and its requirements, Meyers Nave attorneys Gorev Ahuja and Arlene Yang prepared this advisory guide answering the ten most common questions employers are asking about
SB 95. Additional information is also available in this FAQ provided by the State of California Department of Industrial Relations.
Please click here to read Gorev and Arlene’s guide.
- Which employers are subject to SB 95?
- When does SB 95 go into effect?
- What happened to the prior mandates under AB 1867 and FFCRA?
- Is SB 95 retroactive?
- For what reasons may employees take supplemental paid sick leave?
- What is the amount of leave employees receive and can use?
- How much are employees paid?
- What if employers already provided paid sick leave for COVID-19 reasons?
- How does SB 95 interact with Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards?
- What are the next steps for employers?