Melody Gutierrez September 11, 2014
Millions of Californians will begin earning paid sick days under a bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown that makes the Golden State the second in the nation to require the benefit (Connecticut being the first).
The law takes effect in July and will help 40 percent of the workforce in California, employees largely in retail, fast-food and other service-industry jobs who work full time or part time but who receive no paid sick leave from their employers.
The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, comes eight years after San Francisco voters approved a 2006 measure requiring employers to provide paid sick time to workers. .
Under the law, for every 30 hours worked, employees would accrue one hour of paid sick leave, which can be used to care for themselves or a family member.
In San Francisco, workers accrue sick leave at the same rate, but the minimum cap is five days to nine days depending on the size of the company.
For years, such efforts have been supported by labor unions, but opposed by business groups.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco praised state lawmakers, saying sick leave benefits everyone by lowering health care costs, reducing employee turnover and preventing the spread of illnesses.
"In order to jump-start the middle class, Congress must now follow California's lead and guarantee paid sick leave for workers across the entire country," Pelosi said in a statement.
The law requires workers to be employed 90 days before using accrued sick leave. To qualify, employees would have to work 30 or more days in a year.
"This is a historic day - 6.5 million workers across the state will benefit directly from this law," said Steve Smith, spokesman for the California Labor Federation. "This is a huge step forward. But, we won't rest until every worker in the state of California has the opportunity to earn sick days off."
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