California lawmakers joined Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan.25 in announcing an agreement on a framework that ensures employees continue to have access to COVID-19 supplemental pay through late September.
Amid the national surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant, Newsom, along with Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon announced their agreement to provide two weeks of COVID-19 sick leave through Sept.30 to California’s workers.
This comes amid labor shortages that are seen throughout the state driven by the pandemic. Since the program ended on Sept. 30, 2021, Californians have been without extra pay, and only received three days of regular sick leave.
“California’s ability to take early budget action will protect workers and provide real relief to businesses reeling from this latest surge. Throughout this pandemic, we have come together to address the immediate impacts COVID-19 continues to have on millions of California families, both at home and at work. By extending sick leave to frontline workers with COVID and providing support for California businesses, we can help protect the health of our workforce, while also ensuring that businesses and our economy are able to thrive.”
The law was signed by Newsom in March 2021 and it required employers with 26 or more employees to provide 80 hours of paid sick leave.
According to a statement released by Newsom’s office, early budget actions will also include restoring business tax credits, including research and development credits and net operating losses, that were limited during the COVID-19 Recession; tax relief for recipients of federal relief grants for restaurants and shuttered venues; and additional funding for the Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program.
Additionally, the framework includes significant funding to bolster testing capacity, accelerate vaccination and booster efforts, support front-line workers, strengthen the health care system, and battle misinformation.
Full-time employees of a company with six or more workers are entitled to 40 hours of paid leave due to COVID-19. Workers may receive an additional 40 hours of paid leave with proof that they or a family member has tested positive. Under the proposal, employees may also use leave to receive their COVID-19 vaccine or booster, and recover from the side effects.
