As part of the minimum wage ordinance passed by the City of Los Angeles last year, a mandatory paid sick leave (PSL) law will begin to apply to employers with 25 or fewer employees on July 1, 2017.
The PSL rules took effect for employers with 26 or more employees on July 1, 2016.
From an employer perspective, one of the toughest challenges of these local PSL ordinances is that the rules can change at any time. That is precisely what happened with the Los Angeles ordinance when the city recently revised the rules and regulations relating to this ordinance.
FAQ Changes
The city also revised its answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ). Some of these changes or clarifications are important, providing information on topics such as:
• How to determine business size;
• How to pay employees for sick time;
• When an existing paid leave or paid time off policy can satisfy the requirements of the ordinance;
• How to use the frontloading method during the first year that the law applies to an employer and in subsequent years; and
• Whether a maximum cap on accrued hours is allowed.
LA Differs from State Law
The Los Angeles PSL ordinance contains different provisions than the state PSL law. Employers with businesses in a city with a local PSL ordinance need to comply with both the state and the local law. For each provision, protection or benefit, employers will need to provide whichever is more generous to the employee.
Poster Required
The City of Los Angeles requires employers to post a minimum wage and paid sick leave poster. The CalChamber’s Los Angeles Labor Law Posters contains the official notices employers must post in Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County.
More information on the Los Angeles minimum wage ordinance can be found on the Office of Wage Standard website, wagesla.lacity.org.
