One of the major California updates for 2024 is expanded sick leave.

The original guidelines provided for 3 days (24 hours); and employers could set those hours to accrue based on how many hours the employee had worked.  Alternately they could frontload the time – meaning give it all to the employee at the beginning of the year.

Well, effective January 1^st, companies will have to provide 40 hours or 5 days of paid sick leave (if you’re keeping count, that’s up from the prior 24 hours).

You still have the option of using an accrual method (1 hour accrued for every 30 hours worked).  And you could actually use an alternate accrual rate – but you have to make sure that whatever rate you use will result in the employee accruing 40 hours no later than their 200^th day of employment.  They also have to accrue at least 24 hours by their 120^th day of employment.  And yes – you can still just frontload everything if you wish.

The annual usage cap has been increased too.  While it was 24 hours, it’s now 40 hours – so you can limit the amount of time an employee can take each year to 40 hours.  And also, the accrual cap has increased.  With the new law, your accrual cap is 80 hours or ten days – so even if the employee has roll over, because they didn’t use all their sick days – they can’t have a total of more than 80 hours on the books.

So, what should you do to get ready?  Well first, look at your local ordinances – figure out if you actually are subject to a local sick leave law, and what the details are.

Then, take a look at your handbook policy, and the details of the new law’s updates.  That way you can figure out how much it might impact your company.  I wouldn’t suggest tackling a rewrite of your policies on your own, give your HR expert or labor attorney a call for help with updating your handbook.  And actually, this is the time to do that anyway, because this isn’t the only new law for the new year.