Wednesday, Jul 8, 2015

The effective date for employers to begin providing mandatory sick leave to all employees has arrived (July 1), and in addition to updating policies, dentists must also distribute a new/updated employee notice by July 8.

The California Department of Industrial Relations requires that a copy of the Notice to Employee (Labor Code section 2810.5) form be distributed to all employees by July 8. (As a best practice, dentists should have staff sign the document as well.) Details on this can be found in the state's webinar documentation.

The new sick leave law requires nearly every employer in California to allow all of its employees at least three paid sick days each year. The law provides that employees receive no less than an hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. (Caring for themselves or family members can be the reasons for taking the sick leave.)

CDA has included sick leave information on page 22 in its 2015 Sample Employee Manual that dentists can use to notify their employees about the changes to the paid sick leave law in California.

CDA reminds dentists in San Francisco that they must comply with both the new state law regarding employee sick leave as well as the local sick leave ordinance, at least for those provisions that provide for more generous leave.

Accrual for San Francisco employees is one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. For employers with fewer than 10 employees, there is a cap of 40 hours of accrued paid sick leave per employee. For employees of other employers, there is a cap of 72 hours of accrued sick leave. More information is available at the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement website, sfgsa.org. Other local ordinances could be adopted with stricter requirements, in which case employers would have to comply with the strictest requirement, whether that is state or local law.

Dentists should review their employee manual every year and make any necessary changes so that the practice remains in compliance with current state requirements.

For more information on the new sick leave law, including frequently asked questions, click here or contact Michelle Corbo at 916.554.4968.