Paid Covid Leave Bill, Leaves Employers Holding the Bill

On Feb 2, California legislators introduced the newest bill to reinstate paid covid leave.

This bill requires California employers to cover the cost of employees who are absent from work over covid.

The bill would be retroactive to the start of the year and extend through September. United Contractors (UCON) strongly opposes this bill and is lobbying the state to provide dollar-for-dollar tax credits for already struggling California businesses.

They request your support by contacting your local representatives, which you can do here.

Supplemental Paid Covid Leave Bill Overview

The full text of Assembly Bill 84 is here, which legislators promised to expedite and quickly pass.

It’s not the first of its kind, and a mirror of it, Senate Bill 114, is expected to be submitted to the California Senate.

Known as Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL), it would apply to all employers with 25 employees or more. If passed, it would go into effect ten days after being signed by Governor Newsom. 

These bills ease the financial impact of covid related job absences by requiring employers to pay workers for time lost.

The maximum amount of SPSL is $511 per day and $5,110 in total. All other paid sick time that employees are entitled to is separate.

Full-time employees may use up to 40 hours of SPSL for various reasons.

Full-time employees who test positive for COVID may use an additional 40 hours of SPSL.

From a statement issued by UCON:

“It’s unreasonable and unfair to ask our employers, who already pay premium wages, to shoulder the costs of paid leave, especially as the state sits on a historic budget surplus. We are urging the Governor and legislature to include dollar-for-dollar tax credits for employers who pay premium wages, which includes all CA union-signatory contractors.”

UCON Requests California Residents to Write their Representatives

If you live in California and support UCON’s initiative to receive equal tax credits in exchange for paid covid sick leave, they’ve set up this webpage for you to contact your representatives quickly.

Using their preformulated letter, you can readily have your voice heard based on your zip code.

For HR & Payroll questions, contact UCON Labor & Member Services here.

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