Section 248.2 - COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave; covered employees; firefighters(a) As used in this section: (1) "COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave" means supplemental paid sick leave provided pursuant to this section.(2) "Employer" means an employer, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 245.5, that employs more than 25 employees.(3) "Covered employee" means an employee who is unable to work or telework for an employer because of a reason listed under paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).(4) "Firefighter" means an active firefighting member of any of the following: (A) A fire department of a city, county, city and county, district, or other public or municipal corporation or political subdivision.(B) A fire department of the University of California and the California State University.(C) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.(D) A county forestry or firefighting department or unit.(E) A fire department that serves a United States Department of Defense installation and whose firefighters are certified by the United States Department of Defense as meeting its standards for firefighters.(F) A fire department that serves a National Aeronautics and Space Administration installation and that adheres to training standards established in accordance with Article 4 (commencing with Section 13155) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 12 of the Health and Safety Code.(G) A fire department that provides fire protection to a commercial airport regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under Part 139 (commencing with Section 139.1) of Subchapter G of Chapter 1 of Title 14 of the Federal Code of Regulations whose firefighters are trained and certified by the State Fire Marshal as meeting the standards of Fire Control 5 and Section 139.319 of Title 14 of the Federal Code of Regulations.(H) Fire and rescue services coordinators who work for the Office of Emergency Services. For purposes of this clause, "fire and rescue services coordinators" means coordinators with any of the following job classifications: coordinator, senior coordinator, or chief coordinator.(b) A covered employee shall be entitled to COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave as follows: (1) An employer shall provide COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave to each covered employee if that covered employee is unable to work or telework due to any of the following reasons: (A) The covered employee is subject to a quarantine or isolation period related to COVID-19 as defined by an order or guidelines of the State Department of Public Health, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or a local health officer who has jurisdiction over the workplace. If the covered employee is subject to more than one of the foregoing, the covered employee shall be permitted to use COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave for the minimum quarantine or isolation period under the order or guidelines that provides for the longest such minimum period.(B) The covered employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19.(C) The covered employee is attending an appointment to receive a vaccine for protection against contracting COVID-19.(D) The covered employee is experiencing symptoms related to a COVID-19 vaccine that prevent the employee from being able to work or telework.(E) The covered employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.(F) The covered employee is caring for a family member, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 245.5, who is subject to an order or guidelines described in subparagraph (A) or who has been advised to self-quarantine, as described in subparagraph (B).(G) The covered employee is caring for a child, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 245.5, whose school or place of care is closed or otherwise unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19 on the premises.(2) A covered employee shall be entitled to the following number of hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave: (A) A covered employee is entitled to 80 hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave, if the covered employee satisfies either of the following criteria: (i) The employer considers the covered employee to work full time.(ii) The covered employee worked or was scheduled to work, on average, at least 40 hours per week for the employer in the two weeks preceding the date the covered employee took COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave.(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a covered employee who is a firefighter who was scheduled to work more than 80 hours for the employer in the two weeks preceding the date the covered employee took COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave is entitled to an amount of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave equal to the total number of hours that the covered employee was scheduled to work for the employer in those two preceding weeks.(C) A covered employee who does not satisfy the criteria in subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B) is entitled to an amount of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave as follows: (i) If the covered employee has a normal weekly schedule, the total number of hours the covered employee is normally scheduled to work for the employer over two weeks.(ii) If the covered employee works a variable number of hours, 14 times the average number of hours the covered employee worked each day for the employer in the six months preceding the date the covered employee took COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave. If the covered employee has worked for the employer over a period of fewer than six months but more than 14 days, this calculation shall instead be made over the entire period the covered employee has worked for the employer.(iii) If the covered employee works a variable number of hours and has worked for the employer over a period of 14 days or fewer, the total number of hours the covered employee has worked for that employer.(D) The total number of hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave to which a covered employee is entitled pursuant to subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) shall be in addition to any paid sick leave that may be available to the covered employee under Section 246.(E) A covered employee may determine how many hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave to use, up to the total number of hours to which the covered employee is entitled pursuant to subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of this paragraph. The employer shall make COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave available for immediate use by the covered employee, upon the oral or written request of the covered employee to the employer.(F) An employer is not required to provide a covered employee more than the total number of hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave to which the covered employee is entitled pursuant to subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of this paragraph.(3)(A) Each hour of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave shall be compensated at a rate equal to the following: (i) For nonexempt covered employees, by the highest of the following: (I) Calculated in the same manner as the regular rate of pay for the workweek in which the covered employee uses COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave, whether or not the employee actually works overtime in that workweek.(II) Calculated by dividing the covered employee's total wages, not including overtime premium pay, by the employee's total hours worked in the full pay periods of the prior 90 days of employment.(III) The state minimum wage.(IV) The local minimum wage to which the covered employee is entitled.(ii) COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave for exempt covered employees shall be calculated in the same manner as the employer calculates wages for other forms of paid leave time.(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a covered employee who is entitled to an amount of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2), shall be compensated for each hour of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave at the regular rate of pay to which the covered employee would be entitled as if the covered employee had been scheduled to work those hours, pursuant to existing law or an applicable collective bargaining agreement.(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) or (B), an employer shall not be required to pay more than five hundred eleven dollars ($511) per day and five thousand one hundred ten dollars ($5,110) in the aggregate to a covered employee for COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave taken by the covered employee unless federal legislation is enacted that increases these amounts beyond the amounts that were included in the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act established by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Public Law 116-127), in which case the new federal dollar amounts shall apply to this section as of the date the new amounts are applicable under the federal law. Nothing in this subparagraph shall prevent a covered employee who has reached the maximum amounts, as set forth herein, from choosing to utilize other paid leave that is available to the covered employee in order to fully compensate the covered employee for leave taken.(4) An employer shall not require a covered employee to use any other paid or unpaid leave, paid time off, or vacation time provided by the employer to the covered employee before the covered employee uses COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave or in lieu of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave.(5) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, in order to satisfy the requirement to maintain an employee's earnings when an employee is excluded from the workplace due to COVID-19 exposure under the Cal-OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards at Sections 3205 through 3205.4, inclusive, of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations or the Cal-OSHA Aerosol Transmissible Diseases Standard at Section 5199 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, an employer may require a covered employee to first exhaust their COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave under this section.(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), if an employer pays a covered employee another supplemental benefit for leave taken on or after January 1, 2021, that is payable for the reasons listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) and that compensates the covered employee in an amount equal to or greater than the amount of compensation for COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave to which the covered employee is entitled as set forth under paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), then the employer may count the hours of the other paid benefit or leave towards the total number of hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave that the employer is required to provide to the covered employee under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). For purposes of the foregoing, the other supplemental benefit for leave taken that may be counted does not include paid sick leave to which the covered employee is entitled under Section 246, subdivision (e) of Section 248, or subdivision (f) of Section 248.1 but may include paid leave provided by the employer pursuant to any federal or local law in effect or that became effective on or after January 1, 2021, if the paid leave is provided to the covered employee under that law for any of the same reasons set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).(d) In addition to other remedies as may be provided by the laws of this state or its subdivisions, including, but not limited to, the remedies available to redress any unlawful business practice under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code, the Labor Commissioner shall enforce this section. For purposes of enforcement and to implement COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave, this section shall apply as follows: (1) The Labor Commissioner shall enforce this section as if COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave constitutes "paid sick days," "paid sick leave," or "sick leave" under subdivisions (i) and (n) of Section 246, subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 246.5, Section 247, Section 247.5, and Section 248.5.(2) For purposes of the enforcement of subdivision (i) of Section 246 as it relates to this section:(A) COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave shall be set forth separately from paid sick days.(B) The requirement in subdivision (i) of Section 246 is not enforceable until the next full pay period following the date that this section takes effect.(C) When covered employees have schedules described in clauses (ii) and (iii) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), an employer may meet the requirement of subdivision (i) of Section 246 for such covered employees by doing an initial calculation of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave available and indicating "(variable)" next to that calculation. This, however, does not exempt an employer from providing a covered employee an updated calculation when such a covered employee requests to use COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave or requests relevant records under Section 247.5.(3) Section 249 applies to COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave.(4) By seven days after the date of enactment of this section, the Labor Commissioner shall make publicly available a model notice for purposes of Section 247. Only for purposes of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave, if an employer's covered employees do not frequent a workplace, the employer may satisfy the notice requirement of subdivision (a) of Section 247 by disseminating notice through electronic means, such as by electronic mail.(e)(1) The requirement to provide COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave as set forth in this section shall take effect 10 days after the date of enactment of this section, at which time the requirements shall apply retroactively to January 1, 2021.(2) The requirement to provide COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave as set forth in this section applies retroactively to January 1, 2021, in order to protect the economic well-being of covered employees who took leave for the reasons listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) beginning on or after January 1, 2021, when the requirements in Sections 248, 248.1, and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act established by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Public Law 116-127) expired, and before the effective date of this section. (A) For any such leave taken, if the employer did not compensate the covered employee in an amount equal to or greater than the amount of compensation for COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave to which the covered employee is entitled as set forth under paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), then upon the oral or written request of the employee, the employer shall provide the covered employee with a retroactive payment that provides for such compensation.(B) For any such retroactive payment, the number of hours of leave corresponding to the amount of the retroactive payment shall count towards the total number of hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave that the employer is required to provide to the covered employee under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).(C) This retroactive payment shall be paid on or before the payday for the next full pay period after the oral or written request of the covered employee. The retroactive payment shall be reflected on the written notice required by subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) for the corresponding pay period.(D) The requirement to provide a retroactive payment under this subdivision is in addition to the requirements in subdivision (e) of Section 248 and subdivision (f) of Section 248.1 that a covered employee taking COVID-19 food sector supplemental paid sick leave or COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave at the time of the expiration of those sections shall be permitted to take the full amount of such supplemental paid sick leave to which that covered employee otherwise would have been entitled under those sections.(f) The requirement to provide COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave as set forth in this section shall remain in effect through September 30, 2021, except that a covered employee taking COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave at the time of the expiration of this section shall be permitted to take the full amount of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave to which the covered employee otherwise would have been entitled under this section.(g) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.(h) The provisions of this section shall not apply to providers of in-home supportive services under Section 14132.95, 14132.952, or 14132.956 of, or Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, or waiver personal care services pursuant to Section 14132.97 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.Added by Stats 2021 ch 13 (SB 95),s 1, eff. 3/19/2021.