HR Outsourcing News Roundup: Paid Sick Leave Edition

By Mickey Matran / November 20, 2014 / Uncategorized No Comments

In the recent midterm elections, many voters went to the polls to vote on more than congressional representation or governor’s races. In a few states and localities, the issue of paid sick leave was also on the ballots.

Paid sick leave measures were approved in Massachusetts, certain areas of New Jersey and areas in California. Connecticut and New York City already had some measure of paid sick time requirements, so this trend appears to be growing. If you do business in these states, it’s imperative you know the laws so you remain compliant. Even if you don’t have operations there, it’s a good idea to know about these trends in case they reach your area soon.

To date, Louisiana and many other southern states have not shown much support for paid sick leave measures and in many cases have taken steps to prohibit the passage of such measures. Still, as more states and localities pass laws requiring employers to provide paid sick leave, sentiment could change.

Remember that even if you aren’t required to provide paid sick leave to your staff, you may, in some instances, be required to provide job protection while they use unpaid leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act or other laws may apply if an employee has a baby, has a serious illness or injury, or needs to care for a family member with a serious illness or injury.

This week’s HR Outsourcing News Roundup brings you articles and blog posts with information and analysis on paid sick leave laws.

Paid Sick Leave Laws Enacted in U.S. State and Local Elections. The National Law Review: “The paid sick time laws give covered employees the right to paid time off to recover from illness, to care for a sick family member, to obtain preventive care or diagnosis, or to help a family member, as defined in the applicable law, to obtain such care or diagnosis. Most of the laws also permit employees to use paid sick time when a public official has closed the employee’s place of business or the school of an employee’s child due to a public health emergency. In addition, each of the laws prohibits retaliation against an employee who exercises his or her rights under the sick time law or who informs other employees about the right to paid sick time.”

Everything You Need to Know About Paid Sick Leave. Evil HR Lady: “San Francisco was the first to implement mandatory sick time, then Connecticut and New York City. California’s legislature just passed a paid sick leave law and Massachusetts just voted one in this week. If your business is in any of these places, you need to know the law for each place. If your business is located elsewhere, pay attention, because it’s likely that you’re next.”

Paid Sick Leave Spreads to New Jurisdictions. Corporate Counsel: “‘I don’t pretend to have a crystal ball, but I certainly think it will be a growing trend,’ Christopher Kaczmarek, a shareholder at Littler Mendelson, told CorpCounsel.com. Kaczmarek, who works in his firm’s Boston office, explained that the Massachusetts law, which goes into effect July 1, 2015, will have total coverage: ‘It literally affects every single employer in the state.’ Under the new law, all employers have to provide sick leave for employees, and those with 11 or more employees must give paid leave.”

Study Examines Effects of San Francisco Paid Sick Leave Policy, Finds Low-Wage Workers Especially Benefited. ScienceBlogs: “Published in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the study examined the effects of a 2007 paid sick leave policy in San Francisco, which became the first U.S. jurisdiction to enact a paid sick leave ordinance…The study found that with passage of the paid sick leave ordinance, the proportion of businesses with a sick leave policy increased from 73 percent to 91 percent, with much of the gain among firms with fewer than 100 workers. By 2009, 99 percent of workplaces with more than 20 employees in San Francisco offered paid sick leave.”

U.S. Voters Approve Paid Sick Leave, Higher Minimum Wage. Squire Patton Boggs Employment Law Worldview: “Under the measures passed in Trenton and Montclair, New Jersey, employees are entitled to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers of 10 or more employees, or employers of food service, home health care, or child care employees, must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick time per year, while employers with 9 or fewer employees must provide up to 24 hours of paid sick time per year. Paid sick time may be used for the employee’s own medical care or to care for the employee’s child, parent, parent of a spouse, domestic partner, grandchild, grandparent, spouse of a grandparent, or sibling. The Trenton and Montclair laws go into effect in early March 2015.”

Contact us to learn more about how paid sick time legislation or other laws related to employee leave could affect your business.

HR Solutions is a human resources outsourcing firm based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We eliminate human resources headaches for businesses with 10 to 1,000 employees by handling their payroll, employee benefits, regulatory compliance and other staffing needs. Contact us to learn how we can streamline your company’s human resources function to save money and reduce risk.

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