Critical Payroll and Tax Compliance Updates
June 2015
Paid Sick Leave Laws | Minimum Wage Updates
Sick Leave Laws
Massachusetts Paid Sick Leave
The Massachusetts sick leave law, which was approved on November 4, 2014, will go into effect on July 1, 2015.
Under the law, employers with 11 or more employees must provide their employees with up to 40 hours of paid sick leave annually. Employers with less than 11 employees must provide up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave. Employees accrue sick leave at a rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. The accrual begins on July 1, 2015 or the date of hire, whichever is later. Employees can use sick leave beginning on the 90th day after hire.
Unused sick time must be carried over to the next year, but employers are not required to grant more than 40 hours sick leave annually. Employers may require certification of the need for sick time if an employee requests more than 24 consecutive hours of sick leave.
For more information please visit: http://www.mass.gov/ago/doing-business-in-massachusetts/labor-laws-and-public-construction/earned-sick-time/
California Paid Sick Leave
Employers in California will soon be required to accrue paid sick leave for employees who have worked 30 or more days in California since January 1, 2015.
Effective July 1, employers must accrue at least 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers may limit the amount an employee can accrue per year to 48 hours and can also cap the amount of hours an employee can take for sick leave to 24 hours in a year. Unused sick hours are rolled over to the following year, but can be capped by the employer at 48 hours annually.
Employers are required to display a poster in the workplace where employees can read about their rights under the law. Employers must provide each employee with written notice of their sick leave rights, as well as display their sick leave accruals on their paystubs.
The California Labor Commissioner has provided a poster, notice template, and FAQs at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Paid_Sick_Leave.htm
Philadelphia Paid Sick Leave
Effective May 13, 2015, the Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces Ordinance requires that Philadelphia employers of 10 or more employees provide paid sick leave to their employees. Employers with fewer than 10 employees must provide unpaid sick leave to employees.
The ordinance requires that all employees accrue a minimum of one hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked in Philadelphia, up to 40 hours of sick leave in a calendar year. Employees are able to use accrued sick leave beginning on the 90th calendar day following the start date of their employment. Sick leave must be carried over to the following calendar year unless the employer provides at least 40 hours of sick leave at the beginning of each calendar year.
Employers must notify employees that they are entitled to sick leave, the amount of sick leave available and the terms of its legal use. The city has released the poster that employers must post in the workplace and provide to employees, which can be found here:
http://www.phila.gov/MDO/Documents/Sick%20leave%20flyer%204%2023%2015.pdf
Tacoma, Washington Paid Sick Leave
Effective February 1, 2016, all employees who work the city of Tacoma, Washington for at least 80 hours in a calendar year are covered by the city’s paid sick leave ordinance.
Employers must accrue one hour for every 40 hours worked in Tacoma, up to 24 hours within a calendar year. Employees may carry forward up to 24 hours of unused paid sick leave to the next calendar year, but use of paid sick leave is limited to 40 hours per year. New employees may begin to use paid sick leave 180 days after the start of employment.
Employers will be required to provide notice to employees regarding entitlement for paid sick leave. This notice can take the form of a poster hung in a conspicuous and accessible place in each workplace. A model notice that may be used by employers to satisfy the notice requirement will be posted to the city’s website when available.
For more information, see the city’s website.
BDB can help you keep track of sick leave and keep you in compliance with our PTO Accrual Service. Contact your client services rep to get started.
Minimum Wage updates
Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon has raised the minimum wage for city workers and contractors to $15 per hour, up from $9.25.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles has approved legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2020. Minimum wage is currently at $9 per hour and is set to have its first increase to $10.50 per hour in July of 2016.
New Hampshire
On May 7, New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan signed a measure to make New Hampshire the first state to prohibit employers form hiring persons with disabilities at a lower rate than the federal minimum wage. The bill goes into effect on July 6, 2015.
