San Francisco Enacts New Emergency Leave Law
Under San Francisco’s newly enacted Public Health Emergency Leave Ordinance (“Ordinance”), businesses with 500 or more employees worldwide must provide up to 80 hours of paid Public Health Emergency Leave (“Leave”) to each employee who performs work in San Francisco.[1] The Ordinance went into effect on April 17, 2020 and will expire on June 17, 2020, or upon termination of the Public Health Emergency, whichever occurs first.
The Ordinance is intended to provide paid leave to employees impacted by COVID-19 but who are not covered by the federal Family First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), which only extended paid leave to employees who work for employers with fewer than 500 employees.
Under the Ordinance, all full-time employees as of February 25, 2020 are entitled to 80 hours of paid Leave.[2] Part-time employees are entitled to the average number of hours over a two-week period that the employees were scheduled over the previous six months ending on February 25, 2020, including hours for which the employee took leave of any type.[3] The Leave is available to employees regardless of how long the employee has been employed.
An employee may use Leave to the extent the employee is unable to work (at the customary place of work or telework) due to any of the following:
The employee is subject to an individual or general federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19, including shelter-in-place orders.[4]
The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine.
The employee is experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
The employee is caring for a family member who is subject to an order as described in section 1 (above), has been advised as described in section 2 (above), or is experiencing symptoms as described in section 3 (above).[5]
The employee is caring for a family member if the school or place of care of the family member has been closed, or the care provider of such family member is unavailable, due to the public health emergency.
The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Local Health Officer or federal law.
This Leave must be made available to employees in addition to any paid time off, including paid sick leave under the San Francisco Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, that the employer offered or provided to employees on or before April 17, 2020. Here are a few other notable elements of the Ordinance:
Employers may not require employees to use other accrued paid time off before the employee uses Leave. An employee may voluntarily choose to use PTO prior to this Leave.
Employers may require employees to identify the basis for requesting Leave but cannot require that employees disclose their health information or provide documentation, such as a doctor’s note or letter from a childcare facility.
Employers do not have to pay out any unused Leave.
Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who request Leave.
Employers may not change any paid time off policies on or after April 17, 2020 except to provide additional paid leave.
San Francisco will investigate possible violations and can enforce the Leave requirements by ordering employee reinstatement, payment of paid leave withheld, and penalties.
We recommend that all businesses with 500 or more employees immediately post this notice informing employees of their rights under the Ordinance. Depending on the nature of the business and where its employees are working, employers must provide the notice by posting it in a conspicuous place at the workplace, via electronic communication, and/or by posting in an Employer’s web-based or app-based platform. The notice must be posted in English, Spanish, Chinese, and any language spoken by at least 5% of the employees at the workplace.
[1] Employers of health care providers and emergency responders may limit this Leave to where the employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine or is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.
[2] This Leave must be compensated in the same manner as paid sick leave under the Paid Sick Leave Ordinance.
[3] For employees hired after February 25, 2020, the number of hours of Leave to which they are entitled is equal to the number of hours that he or she worked, on average, over a two-week period between the date of hire and the date upon which the leave is taken, including hours for which the employee took leave of any type.
[4] This includes an employee who is a member of a vulnerable population (who is unable to work or telework) which include people who are (1) 60 years old or older; (2) have certain health conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and weakened immune systems; or, (3) who are pregnant or were pregnant in the last two weeks.
[5] A family member is defined to include a child, parent, legal guardian or ward, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, spouse or registered domestic partner and Designated Person. These relationships include those resulting from adoption, step-relationships, and foster care relationships.
Author: Caitie Emmett, Associate.
The Maier Law Group helps companies ensure that their policies and practices comply with the relevant workplace regulations. Please contact us at info@maierlawgroup.com for more information.
This article has been prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute advertising, solicitation, or legal advice. If you have questions about a particular matter, please contact the Maier Law Group directly.