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The California Department of Industrial Relations reminds employers that the COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL) requirement ended on September 30, 2021. Under the rule, California employers with 26 or more employees were required to provide their employees with up to 80 hours of SPSL for COVID-19 related reasons. Employees who were on SPSL as of September 30, 2021 continue to be eligible if their entitlement extends past September 30, 2021. More information is available here.

California employers should be aware that employees continue to be eligible for regular paid sick leave of one hour for every 30 hours worked up to a cap of 48 hours. They may also be eligible for benefits through the state paid family and medical leave program. More information concerning California paid leave under all available programs is available here.

California local SPSL requirements

Numerous California localities also adopted SPSL requirements that continue to apply beyond September 30, 2021. A summary of these requirements as of October 11, 2021 is shown below.

California city and local SPSL requirements

Following is a list of the California cities and counties that have extended their SPSL requirements into 2021.

• City of Long Beach (active). Effective May 19, 2020, Ordinance ORD-26 requires employers with 500 or more employees nationwide to provide SPSL to their employees who perform any work within the geographic boundaries of the city. The ordinance does not have an expiration date; instead, every 90 days, the city manager must report to the City Council and mayor on the effectiveness of the provisions of the ordinance and whether the ordinance provisions are still necessary based on the city's recovery from the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The City Council will determine the sunset date of the ordinance based on city manager's reports. (City of Long Beach website.)

• City of Los Angeles (active). Mayor Eric Garcetti issued orders requiring supplemental paid sick leave and vaccine paid sick leave for COVID-19. Under these orders, and as codified in city regulations, Los Angeles employers with 500 or more employees within the city or 2,000 or more employees nationwide must provide SPSL to employees who have been employed for 60 days with the same employer and are unable to work or telework for that employer. The order is in effect until two calendar weeks after the expiration of the COVID-19 local emergency period.

• County of Los Angeles (active). Effective March 31, 2020, an ordinance requires Los Angeles county employers with 500 or more employees nationwide to provide SPSL to their employees. Under the revised ordinance, and effective January 1, 2021, the requirement to provide SPSL is extended to all employers in the county. The ordinance remains in effect until two calendar weeks after the expiration of the COVID-19 local emergency.
• County of Marin (expired). Effective June 8, 2021, an ordinance required employers in the unincorporated areas of Marin Country with 25 or fewer employees to provide SPSL to qualified employees. The ordinance expired September 30, 2021.
• City of Oakland (active). Effective May 12, 2020, an ordinance requires employers that employed 50 or more employees between February 3, 2020, and March 3, 2020, provide SPSL to employees who worked for the employer at least two hours after February 3, 2020, within the geographic boundaries of the city. Employers with fewer than 500 employees nationwide may credit the SPSL provided under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) against the SPSL required under the city's ordinance. The ordinance was amended to provide SPSL retroactively to December 31, 2020, and remains in effect until the city's declaration of COVID-19 emergency expires. (Oakland city website; workplace poster.)

• City of Sacramento (expired). The Sacramento City Worker Protection, Health, and Safety Act (Ordinance #2020—0026), effective July 15, 2020, required city employers of 500 or more employees nationwide to provide SPSL. The expiration date was extended under an emergency order to March 31, 2021.

• County of Sacramento (expired). The Sacramento County Worker Protection, Health, and Safety Act of 2020 (Ordinance #1593) required, effective October 1, 2020, unincorporated county employers of 500 or more employees nationwide to provide SPSL to employees working in the county. The ordinance substantially mirrored the Sacramento City Worker Protection, Health, and Safety Act. The expiration date was extended under an emergency order to March 31, 2021.
• City of San Francisco (expired). Effective April 17, 2020, San Francisco employers of 500 or more employees worldwide were required to provide SPSL to their employees. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors reauthorized the emergency ordinance through February 11, 2021. The emergency ordinance expired on February 11, 2021. (Ordinance File #200355; San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement website.)

• County of San Mateo (expired). Effective July 8, 2020, Ordinance #20-506 required San Mateo County employers of 500 or more employees nationwide to provide SPSL to any employee who performed any work within the geographic boundaries of San Mateo County since January 1, 2020. Emergency Ordinance #20-930 extended the expiration date of the SPSL program to June 30, 2021.

• City of San Jose (expired). The City of San Jose enacted Ordinance #30390, which required, effective April 7, 2020, employers not covered by the federal FFCRA to provide SPSL to their employees. The ordinance expiration date was extended through June 30, 2021.

• City of Santa Rosa.  The City of Santa Rosa's ordinance was tied to the FFCRA and the state of California's SPSL law, and as a result, expired on December 31, 2020. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has a pending extension to the ordinance; but it hasn't passed yet.
• County of Sonoma (expired). The ordinance expired effective September 30, 2021.

For more information, see the California Department of Industrial Relations website and the California Chamber of Commerce website.

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