The California Legislature on Thursday voted to expand paid sick leave for about 10.4 million workers, sending a bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom that mandates up to two weeks of paid time off for things like having coronavirus symptoms, scheduling a COVID-19 vaccination or caring for a child who is doing school at home.
The bill, if it is signed into law, applies to companies with at least 25 employees. The rules would expire on Sept. 30, but are retroactive to Jan. 1. Some companies would have to pay their workers for time off they have already taken.
But many companies can get that money back from the federal government. The federal government offers companies a payroll tax credit of up to $511 per day for each employee that takes the paid sick leave. The tax credit is enough to cover workers who make $60 an hour or less, according to state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, the bill's primary author.
But it only applies to companies with more than 500 employees.
While California has gotten billions of dollars in federal coronavirus aid in the past year, the state's Democratic-controlled Legislature has been adding to that in recent weeks. State lawmakers have OK'd more than $14.2 billion in aid for businesses, schools and individuals, while redirecting some federal stimulus dollars to pay off unpaid rent for struggling tenants.
—Adam Beam, Associated Press