Beginning July 1st, 2016, Los Angeles businesses must implement ordinance #184320, which dictates how much paid sick leave must be offered to one’s employees. The new rules apply to all businesses regardless of size, so this is an important one for our many small business payroll clients in Los Angeles.

The new requirements are as follows:

• Employees who work in the City of Los Angeles more than 30 days per calendar year must be given at least 48 hours of paid sick leave each year.

• Leave can be given at the start of the calendar year. Alternately, employers can choose to have their employees accrue the leave throughout the year.

• If the employer chooses an accrual method for paid sick leave, employees must accrue at least 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. They must also allow a minimum of 72 hours of accrued time to carry over from year to year.

• Employers do not have to pay out accrued sick leave if an employee is terminated, but they must reinstate the accrued leave if the employee returns to the workplace within one year.

• State law prohibits requiring documentation for use of paid sick leave. However, this ordinance allows employers to request “reasonable” documentation. This is an area in which to exercise caution; requiring documentation despite the state law can lead to more trouble for your business.

• The ordinance states that employees may use their paid sick leave to care for not only biological family members but also for people whose association is “the equivalent of a family relationship.”

• Finally, employers who terminate an employee who has exercised his or her right to paid sick leave within the past 90 days will be presumed to have taken the action in a retaliatory manner. Again, tread carefully.

We recommend reviewing the new ordinance in full to ensure that your business is compliant. If you are unsure, we are happy to review your current paid sick leave policies and accruals to be certain that your business is providing its employees with the right amount of leave under the new law.

Is this all more complicated than you intended when you decided to handle your company’s payroll and human resources yourself? Contact SourceOne Payroll to learn about our suite of services that will change the way you manage your business.