The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) requires employers with less than 500 employees to provides up to 80 hours of Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) to full-time employees. AB 1867 adds Labor Code Section 248.1, which provides up to 80 hours of COVID-19 related supplemental paid sick leave (“COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave”) for private employers with 500 or more employees as these employers are exempted from providing EPSL benefits under FFCRA.
In addition to providing COVID-19 supplemental sick leave to private-sector employers with 500 or more employers, who were also excluded from the federal law, AB 1867 codifies the governor’s previously-issued executive order (No. N-51-20) providing similar paid leave and handwashing requirements for the food sector workers.
AB 1867 also establishes a separate small employer family leaves mediation pilot program for smaller employers who are now subject to the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”) based on its expansion under SB 1383. We have included a summary of this part of the bill as part of the summary of SB 1383, above.
As a budget trailer bill, this bill became law immediately upon the Governor’s signature on September 9, 2020, and its supplemental paid sick leave provisions became effective 10 days later on September 19, 2020.
(AB 1867 adds section 12945.21 to the Government Code, adds section 113963 to the Health and Safety Code, adds sections 248 and 248.1 to the Labor Code, and amends section 248.5 of the Labor Code.)