Last year, California passed the COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave law (SPSL), requiring employers with more than 25 employees to provide supplemental paid sick leave for certain absences related to COVID-19. Intended as a temporary measure, the law expired on September 30, 2021. However, given the pandemic’s continued impact, SPSL was recently revived as Senate Bill 114 and signed back into law (2022 SPSL) by Governor Gavin Newsom on February 9, 2022, with a few notable changes from last year.  

On March 29, 2021, a new California law took effect mandating COVID-related supplemental paid sick leave for employers with more than 25 employees. Specifically, Senate Bill (SB) 95 creates new Labor Code Section 248.2, which requires employers to provide supplemental paid sick leave for certain absences related to COVID-19, in addition to other paid time off benefits to which they are already entitled. This law (referred to below as the “2021 SPSL law”) applies retroactively to January 1, 2021 and is effective through September 30, 2021.

If you are a private-sector company with employees in California, please take note of the following new laws which go into effect as of January 1, 2021 (or earlier, as indicated below). Businesses impacted by these changes should review and update existing policies and procedures, including employee handbooks and records retention policies, independent contractor agreements, and arbitration agreements.