If you work in the city of Los Angeles, you are likely entitled to expanded sick leave protection under a new ordinance.
In many cities and towns across the United States, employees struggle with how to handle illnesses and family emergencies. Far too often, employers don’t provide adequate sick leave, so workers avoid taking off when they are ill, which often contributes to even more employees getting sick. Two new ordinances in Los Angeles aims to provide more protection for employees by raising the minimum wage and ensuring that workers can have paid time off if they are ill or taking care of a sick family member.
Minimum Wage Increases
Across the nation, workers have become increasingly upset at a minimum wage that is often inadequate to support themselves or their families. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and in California, it is $10.00 per hour. The City of Los Angeles decided to address the question of a living wage on its own, with a minimum wage ordinance that goes into effect at different times depending on the side of the company. For employers with 26 or more employees, the minimum wage will be $10.50 per hour beginning on July 1, 2016. For businesses that employer 25 or fewer employees, this wage increase will not go into effect until July 1, 2017. The minimum wage will continue to rise each year, up to $15.00 per hour by 2020 for larger employers and $15.00 per hour by 2021 for smaller employers. In 2022, the minimum wage will continue to increase each year.
This new minimum wage law is an important step in ensuring that workers within the City of Los Angeles are able to earn enough money to support themselves. If you are employed in the city and your employer has not adjusted your salary to reflect this new ordinance, you may have a wage and hour claim against the company. Contact the experienced employment attorneys at PLBH today at (800) 435-7542 or info@plblaw.com to learn more about your rights and how we can help.
Sick Leave Protection
In addition to increasing the minimum wage, the LA City Council passed an ordinance to ensure that workers within the city have a minimum amount of paid sick leave. The benefits provided by this ordinance exceed those provided for under California law.
Under this ordinance, all employees who work at least two hours within the City of Los Angeles in a given week are entitled to 48 hours of sick leave each year. California law only requires employers to provide 24 hours of sick leave each year. Workers must be employed by the same company for at least 30 days in order to be entitled to these benefits. The ordinance provides that employees be allowed to use 48 hours of paid sick leave each year (which is the equivalent of 6 days), beginning either on July 1, 2016 or on the 90th day of employment. Employers can choose to give employees the full 48 hours at the beginning or each year, or they could permit employees to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours that they work. If an employer already has a paid time off policy for 48 hours or more per year for sick leave, then the company is not required to offer additional time. Employers do not have to pay employees for sick leave time that they have not used at the end of the year or when they leave employment.
Importantly, this ordinance allows an employee to take time off to care for a family member, which includes ““any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.” This part of the ordinance will give employees the ability to take paid time off to take care of a sick loved one, whether or not that person is related to them by blood.
These new ordinances provide important protections to anyone who works within the City of Los Angeles. If you believe that your employer is not complying with these laws, you may have a viable employment law case against them. The attorneys at PLBH are experienced in handling all types of employment law cases, including wage and hour and discrimination complaints. Contact PLBH today at (800) 435-7542 or info@plblaw.com to schedule a consultation about your employment law case today!