State Paid Leave Laws to Change Yet Again January 1st

A new state law is expected to come into effect next week on January 1st, once again altering paid sick-leave laws in California.

In the past few years, paid sick leave has drastically expanded in California. In January of 2024, paid sick leave saw a huge expansion take place. Previously in 2023, California law stated that an employer could limit an employee’s use of paid sick leave to 24 hours or three days during a year. But on January 1, 2024, that changed, requiring employers to provide and allow employees to use at least 40 hours or five days of paid sick leave per year.

Some cities still require by law even more than the state minimum, such as Los Angeles which requires 48 hours/6 days of paid sick leave a year, and San Francisco which requires 48 of paid sick leave for businesses with less than 10 employees, and 72 hours for businesses with more than 10 people. However, for most of the state, paid sick leave still follows the 40 hour/five day rule.

On January 1, 2025, a new state law will come into effect expanding the number of reasons for paid sick leave. According to SB 1105, authored by Senator Steve Padilla (D-Chula Vista), and signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in September, agricultural employees are now entitled to paid sick days to avoid smoke, heat, or flooding conditions created by a local or state emergency. This also applies if their workplace is closed because of the weather or smoke event

In addition, crime victims can also now be allowed to take sick days to help get over after effects of a crime. According to the California Labor Commission “It depends a little bit on how big your employer is, on what rights you have exactly, but it can include getting a restraining order, testifying in court, or in some instances, usually with larger employers providing certain childcare.”

While the number of reasons for paid sick leave is to expand in 2025, what isn’t expanding is the state minimum number of paid sick leave days, with the amount being still locked in for 40 hours/five days a year. This means that workers need to be more attentive on how and when they should use paid sick leave days.

“You can’t predict the weather or if you are a victim of a crime,” explained legal advisor Luke Klein to the Globe on Friday. “But the new laws coming up in a few days means that workers could potentially have to juggle around days off even more. California has no PTO or vacation day laws, so workers may have to go by unpaid time off for a lot of days. So, if they fall sick, do they take unpaid days off and keep the paid days off in case of, say, a really hot day or to recover post crime? Or do they take them when needed, then switch over into unpaid time off?

“The new laws are just complicating matters for many. Still, California is streets ahead on these sorts of things. So, like when the minimum hours changed this year, we’ll have an adjustment period for the new laws in 2025. The first big trials will come when wildfire season starts up again. Then we’ll see if and when people start taking off.”