Governor Newsom recently announced that California will enact another COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave program, which essentially revives the 2021 supplemental paid sick leave program that expired last year on September 30th. We are still waiting on the official Order with details on the 2022 Program, but here is what we know thus far:

Once in effect, the Program will be retroactive to January 1, 2022 and last until September 30, 2022.

Employers with 26 or more employees will be required to provide the following:

• 40 hours of supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) for COVID-related reasons, including:

• the employee is subject to a quarantine/isolation order;
• the employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis;
• the employee is caring for a family member who is to subject to quarantine or isolation period; and
• the employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed due to COVID-19;

• An additional 40 hours of SPSL if an employee or their family member tests positive*; and

• An additional 24 hours of SPSL for an employee to get the vaccine or recover from the vaccine’s side effects.

*To receive the 40 hours of additional SPSL, an employee must show proof that they or a family member has tested positive. The employer must pay for the cost of the employee’s test. If, however, an employee refuses to take a test or show a positive test result, no additional sick leave will be granted.

As a reminder, Cal/OSHA’s Exclusion Pay requirements remain in effect, where employees must be excluded from work due to a workplace exposure. However, unless Cal/OSHA indicates otherwise, employers may apply the Supplemental Paid Sick Leave to cover their exclusion pay obligation.