[co-author: Nick Ladin-Sienne]

In the past few weeks, employers across the country have made staggering efforts to pivot business models and adjust to a new social, economic, and professional environment. For many employers, this now includes the need to take into consideration previously-inapplicable municipal and county ordinances related to employee leave and wages.

The City of Los Angeles, for one, imposes certain wage and leave-related obligations on employers with a “Qualified Employee.” That is, an employee that performs some work in the City of Los Angeles, even if they do not do so regularly. This includes employees who regularly work in Los Angeles-based facilities; those who now telework from their home in the City, or who previously did so; and even an employee that chooses to answer a work email while passing through the City.

Expanding on those existing City laws, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an emergency order last week requiring “Large Employers” to provide two weeks’ supplemental paid sick leave for COVID-19-related causes, up to 80 hours at the regular rate of pay (not to exceed $511 per day or $5,110 in total). Large Employers must (1) have at least one Qualified Employee; and (2) have either (a) 500 or more Qualified Employees, or (b) 2,000 or more employees in the United States, whether located in the City or elsewhere.

If an employer meets both (1) and either (2)(a) or (2)(b), then the employer must provide the supplemental paid leave to each Qualified Employee. Specifically, on oral or written request, employers must now provide emergency paid leave to a Qualified Employee who is unable to telework when any of the following four criteria apply:

1. The employee has COVID-19;
2. The employee requests time off due to the employee’s higher risk to develop a severe form of COVID-19 (e.g., the employee is 65 or older or has a coronary, pulmonary, immune, renal, or other chronic condition);
3. A public health official or healthcare provider recommends the employee isolate or self-quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19; or
4. The employee takes time off to care for a family member, (i) who has received an isolation or self-quarantine recommendation or (ii) whose senior care provider, school, or child care provider has ceased operations in response to a public health or other public official’s recommendation.

Notably, employers may not condition the leave on an employee’s provision of a doctor’s note.

Failure to follow the order can result in penalties including back pay, leave amounts, and attorneys’ fees, as well as potential civil liability for claims such as retaliation.

That means that employers with 500 or more employees and some workers in Southern California may want to determine whether they have any Qualified Employees or if they meet the definition of a Large Employer under Mayor Garcetti’s order. Employers meeting the criteria should be prepared to provide supplemental paid leave to employees who have or are currently working in the City of Los Angeles.

Even so, the order does provide a few exemptions. For instance, the order does not require employers to provide additional leave to employees who already receive at least 160 hours of paid time off each year. Certain emergency, health services, and parcel delivery employers are also exempt from the order.