Mandatory paid sick leave legislation stopped
The CRA opposed legislation to mandate employer provided paid sick leave that was introduced again this legislative session. In a recent Assembly Appropriations Committee hearing this legislation was stopped for this calendar year. The bill, AB 1000, is identical to last year’s proposal and proposed to require that any employee who works for seven calendar days in California will be eligible for paid, protected sick leave.
AB 1000 (Ma) sought to mandate all of the following:
- For every 30 hours worked, 1 hour of sick leave would accrue.
- Companies with 10 or fewer employees could cap useable sick days in a given year to 5.
- Companies with more than 10 employees could cap useable sick days in a given year to 10.
- Punitive provision to impose a rebuttable presumption that if any adverse action is taken against employee within 90 days of utilizing sick leave- it will be presumed the employer engaged in unlawful retaliation.
- Accrued sick would be rolled over from year to year.
Last year’s proposal was introduced at a time of great economic challenge for California’s restaurant industry. The statewide unemployment rate at that time was 6.2% and the bill made it all the way through the Assembly and was killed in the Senate Appropriations committee. This year, AB 1000 was introduced at time of even greater economic uncertainty, underscored by an unprecedented unemployment rate well over 10%. AB 1000 (Ma) would have layered on additional costs to the state in the midst of a historic budget deficit, add massive new costs to the restaurant industry already feeling the squeeze of the fragile economy, and would have imposed unworkable mandates. AB 1000 will not be eligible for legislative action again until early 2010.