SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KNX) — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation to extend COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave for California workers on Wednesday.
The bill was approved by the California Legislature on Monday. It requires employers to provide workers with up to two weeks of paid time off should they contract COVID-19, and applies to businesses with 26 employees or more.
The state had a similar law in place last year, which expired in September. The new bill applies retroactively to Jan. 1, 2022.
Critics of the bill say its coverage isn’t wide enough. Exempting employers with 25 or fewer workers applies to 90 percent of companies in California, according to the state’s Employment Development Department.
Without additional leave guaranteed by Sacramento, nine out of ten California workers are entitled to only three days of paid sick leave, even if they come down with COVID-19, which can require up to 10 days of recovery and quarantine.
“When people don’t have paid sick days, they will work sick — and that’s a real danger,” said Jenya Cassidy, director of California Work and Family Coalition, told CalMatters.
“Obviously if we’re trying to do this for public health and for the health and well-being of workers and their families, then why would anybody be exempted? Nobody should be exempted,” Cassidy said.
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