Compensation Solutions Blog » Paid Sick Leave

California Enacts Paid Leave Law for Organ, Bone Marrow Donation

Teresa DeSousa — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:29:12 +0000

California has enacted a paid leave law, effective January 1, 2011, giving employees up to thirty (30) days of paid leave in any one year period for organ donation and up to five (5) days paid leave for bone marrow donation. Employers with fifteen (15) or more employees are required to provide this leave. The leave would be provided in addition to, and not concurrent with, leave provided under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or the California Family Rights Act (CFRA).

To qualify, an employee must provide the employer with written verification of his or her status as an organ or bone marrow donor and the medical necessity for the donation. Employers must continue to provide health insurance for the employee during the leave, and the employee must be reinstated to the same or equivalent position as he/she had prior to the leave. An employer can require that the employee use up to five (5) days accrued vacation or vacation time for bone marrow donation, and up to two (2) weeks for organ donation leave.

Many states have specific provisions for state, or public employees to take leave, both with and without pay, but California has enacted the broadest paid leave legislation in the nation. Oregon had previously enacted legislation granting up to forty (40) hours paid leave to bone marrow donors only.

House of Representative Introduces Sick Leave for Flu-Related Illnesses

Teresa DeSousa — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:56:34 +0000

In response to the flu pandemic, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation requiring employers with 15 or more employees to provide up to five (5) days of paid sick leave for workers they send home or advise to stay home with the flu or other contagious diseases. The legislation would apply to both full time and part time workers, and would exclude employers who already provide at least five days of sick pay. Further, if an employer believes an employee is well enough to return to work and notifies them of that belief, they can end paid sick leave and the employee can continue on unpaid leave under the Family Medical leave Act (FMLA) or other available leaves.

If the bill is passed into law, it would take effect within 15 days of being enacted, and would expire after two years.

The text of the bill can be found at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-3991

Federal and State Paid Sick Leave Legislation Developments

Teresa DeSousa — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:19:37 +0000

The New York City Council introduced the Paid Sick Leave Bill on August 20, 2009, and already it has 35 of 51 possible members in favor of it. The bill requires that private employers provide their employees with a minimum number of sick days. The specific provisions are as follows:

Employees would be allowed to accrue one hour for every 30 hours worked, up to nine (9) paid sick days per year.
Accrual begins on the first day of work but an employee would not be able to utilize the leave until (s)he has worked ninety (90) days.

Covered employees can use their time for their own illness, the illness of a family member, to deal with domestic violence issues, or during a school or work closure due to a public health emergency.

The State of Connecticut attempted to pass a similar measure but the Senate vote was a tie and no further action has been taken. The federal Healthy Families Act, introduced by the late Senator Ted Kennedy and supported by President Obama when he was a senator, is still pending. The federal bill, if passed, would allow full-time employees to use up to seven (7) paid sick days a year. Part-time employees would be given a pro rata benefit.

CSI will continue to monitor activity on this issue and advise of any developments.