Labor & Employment Law Update

On April 4, 2016, the Los Angeles City Council just voted on their support of increasing California’s allotment of paid sick days for employees to twice the amount given under California’s Paid Sick Leave Law. This means employees would be allowed to earn six paid sick days during the course of the year (as opposed to only 3 under California’s current law). The law still needs to be drafted, but if it is passed, larger employers will need to be in compliance by July of this year, smaller employers (25 or less) would have a year to get fully compliant.

This comes on the heels of LA’s minimum wage increase to $10.50 per hour starting July 1, 2016 with a graduated increase to $15 by 2020. California is looking to increase state minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2023.

Employers should start assessing their current sick leave policies to confirm or adjust accruals accordingly and to determine the toll this will take on operations. Note that whenever federal and state or city law are in conflict, you always follow the law that gives the employee more.