Staffing Industry Insurance: Mandatory Paid Sick Leave
California temporary and part time workers are celebrating a significant employees’ right victory this month after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a landmark bill that will require nearly all California employers to provide a minimum of three paid sick days per year, to their workers. Despite protests from many business groups who opposed the legislation, Brown signed the bill which will go into effect July 1st of next year.
The new legislation will affect more than 6.5 million employees, or 40 percent of the California workforce, who currently are offered no paid sick leave from their employers. The benefit will apply to both full-time and part-time employees at businesses large and small throughout the state. After the bill goes into effect, employees will be eligible to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours that employee has worked. The “sick time” hours become available to employees after the first ninety days of employment and can also be used for time off to care for family members without repercussions from an employer. Employers will be able to cap the use of that paid time off to three days per year if they choose to do so.
Worker’s rights groups are pursuing similar mandates in Massachusetts, where a statewide ballot measure awaits the civilian seal of approval or rejection this November. The Massachusetts measure would also allow workers to amass one hour of compensated sick leave for every 30 hours worked, with an upper limit of 40 hours in any given year. The proposed law would require employers with more than 10 full-time employees to pay for an employee’s used sick time, while employees of smaller businesses would have the right to take time off without retaliation for their employers but would not be compensated.
The impact of the new sick leave policies on businesses will undoubtedly vary, but workers advocacy groups are excited about how paid sick leave will potentially help millions of workers. It is will be interesting to see how these policies will affect the mounting numbers of temporary and contract workers, and how the staffing industry will adapt if more states follow California’s lead.
The staffing industry faces challenge and risks unique to their niche services and profession. At World Wide Specialty Programs we specialize in ensuring that staffing industry members receive the best Staffing Industry Insurance coverage and a full spectrum of other solutions for staffing professionals, from workers comp to professional liability. For more information about all our offerings please give us a call today at (877) 256-0468.