Name That Section - Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts

Under California’s Sick Leave Law, the first 3 days/24 hours (whatever is more) in a 12-month period must be available to use for the employee’s own illness, the illness of an immediate family member (parent, child, spouse, registered domestic partner, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild and sibling), or for a victim of stalking/sexual assault/domestic violence per Labor Code sections 230 and 230.1. b. Labor Code Section 233 Labor Code section 233, subdivision (a), provides that any employer who provides sick leave for employees shall permit an employee to use, in any calendar year, not less than half of one year's annual accrued sick leave for diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, an employee or an employee's family member. All conditions and restrictions placed by the employer upon the use by an employee of normal sick leave apply to the use of family sick leave. “Sick leave” under this section refers to compensated leave provided by an employer to an employee as an employment benefit for use during an absence due to a physical or mental illness or injury that precludes the employee from performing his or her duties; an absence to obtain professional diagnosis or treatment for the employee’s medical condition; or an absence for other employee medical reasons such as pregnancy. 126 “Sick leave” does not include benefits provided under an employee welfare benefit plan subject to the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, insurance benefits, workers’ compensation benefits, unemployment compensation disability benefits, or benefits not payable from the employer’s general assets. 127 Employers are prohibited from denying an employee the right to use family sick leave, and may not discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, or in any manner discriminate against an employee for using, or attempting to exercise the right to use, family sick leave. 128 An employee whose rights under this section are violated shall be entitled to reinstatement and actual damages or one day’s pay, whichever is greater, and to appropriate equitable relief. 129 However, the California Sick Leave Law puts a different spin on the Kin Care law as there is a broader definition of "family member" under the California Sick Leave Law, including grandparent, grandchild, sibling, and parent-in-law. The end result of reading the California Sick Leave Law and Kin Care obligations together is that an employee's use of paid sick leave to care for a family member pursuant to the California Sick Leave Law will not necessarily count towards the employee's Kin Care law entitlement; it will depend on which family member the employee is caring for. Example #1: Employer provides 12 sick days per year, accrued at the rate of one per month. Employee has accrued six days of sick leave. He may use 3 days of sick leave (half of actually accrued leave) to care for a family member. Example #2: Employer provides 12 sick days per year, accrued at the rate of one per month. Employee has accrued 20 days of sick leave. She may use 6 days of leave (half of accrued leave, capped at half of annual allotment) to care for a family member.

Name that Section: Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts ©2019 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 47