New COVID regulations, rules, and legislation through the CARES Act have caused confusion for many business owners. Your business might need to be aware of the recent COVID Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL) law, which applies to employers in California who have between twenty-five and five hundred employees.
This mandatory law requires employers to provide full-time employees with up to 80 hours of mandatory sick leave pay for any time taken off due to COVID-related reasons, including employees seeking vaccination appointments or recovering from vaccination side-effects. Employers must provide a smaller amount of sick leave pay for part-time employees using a particular calculation.
Crucially, business owners have a duty to notify their employees about this new law.
Since SPSL is enshrined in the Labor Code, violations of SPSL law may be the basis for lawsuits filed under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, commonly known as PAGA representative action.
Who has the cost burden?
If those hours were claimed during a certain period of time, and the employer did not opt-in to the voluntary side of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), then the employer pays without any federal subsidy, tax credit, or other reimbursement.
Since this cost burden can be expensive, Optima Office is encouraging employers to run any time that their employees claim for sick leave related to COVID through the SPSL law concurrently with ARPA. This way, employers will receive the tax credit for that expense.
This update provides only a brief overview of the major changes. If you would like to know how Optima Office can further assist your company with complex changes in employment law, please contact us at (858) 283-1234. Optima is committed to assisting our valued clients through these challenging and fast-changing times.
