California Paid Sick Leave: What HR Needs to Know

Managing sick leave in California is so much more than just giving employees time off when they’re under the weather. In reality, it’s a complex web of state laws, local ordinances, and compliance requirements that can trip up even the most diligent employers. With recent legislative changes expanding sick leave minimums and tightening enforcement, getting it wrong could mean hefty penalties, employee lawsuits, and serious damage to your company culture.

Today, we’re breaking down everything employers and employees need to know about California’s paid sick leave requirements in 2025 and beyond. We’ll cover who’s eligible, how sick leave accrues, when it can be used, and what specific obligations employers must meet to stay compliant. This is especially important for businesses operating across multiple states or California cities, which often have their own set of complex rules. So let’s jump in.

Key Takeaways

• California law now requires most employers to provide at least 40 hours or 5 days of paid sick leave per year.
• All employees—full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal—are generally eligible if they work at least 30 days for the same employer in a year.
• California employers must follow specific accrual, carryover, and notice requirements, and local ordinances may impose stricter rules.

What Is California Paid Sick Leave?

Paid sick leave laws ensure workers can take time off to care for their health or their family’s health without losing income. In California, the law applies to virtually all employers in the state, regardless of size, and covers a broad range of situations beyond traditional illness.

The state legislature recently expanded sick leave requirements, raising the annual minimum from 24 hours (3 days) to 40 hours (5 days, effective January 1, 2024). This change reflects California’s ongoing commitment to worker protections and brings the state’s baseline closer to what many local jurisdictions already require.

The expansion impacts millions of California workers and requires employers to update their policies, tracking systems, and employee communications to ensure compliance.

Who Is Eligible for Paid Sick Time in California?

California’s sick leave law casts a wide net. Any employee who works in California for at least 30 days within a year from the start of employment qualifies for paid sick time. This includes full-time workers, part-time employees, temporary workers, and seasonal workers. Even employees exempt from overtime requirements must receive sick leave benefits.

However, certain categories of workers still fall outside the law’s coverage. Employees covered by qualifying collective bargaining agreements may have different sick leave arrangements. In-home supportive services providers have separate rules under state regulations.

Additionally, certain airline flight deck and cabin crew employees covered by federal requirements may be exempt. Employers should carefully review whether any exemptions apply to their workforce, since misclassification can lead to compliance violations.

How Are Paid Sick Leave Benefits Accrued and Used in CA?

California law outlines when employees start earning sick leave, how much they can earn, and the ways it can be used. Understanding both accrual and usage rules helps employers stay compliant and manage policies effectively.

Accrual Methods and Hours

Employers have two main options for providing sick leave. The accrual method allows employees to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. This approach works well for employers with variable schedules or part-time workers, as sick leave accumulates proportionally to hours worked.

Alternatively, employers can frontload the full annual allotment—40 hours or 5 days—at the beginning of each 12-month period. Frontloading simplifies administration and eliminates tracking complications.

Note, however, that the frontload method means providing the full amount upfront regardless of hours worked. Employers choosing this method must ensure their policy clearly defines the 12-month period (calendar year, fiscal year, or employment anniversary).

The law sets important limits on accrual and usage. Employers can cap total accrued sick leave at 80 hours (10 days) and limit annual usage to 40 hours (5 days). Unused sick leave must carry over to the following year, though employers using the frontloading method aren’t required to allow carryover.

When Can Employees Use Sick Leave in California?

Employees become eligible to use accrued sick leave after 90 calendar days of employment. Once eligible, they can use sick leave for various health-related reasons. These include diagnosis, care, or treatment of their own health condition or that of a family member. Preventive care appointments also qualify, as do situations involving domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

California defines “family member” broadly to include children (biological, adopted, foster, or stepchildren), parents (biological, adoptive, foster, or stepparents), spouses or registered domestic partners, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings.

The law also allows employees to designate one person annually for whom they can use sick leave. This way, there’s flexibility for those with non-traditional family structures or close relationships outside legal definitions.

Also, note that paid sick leave is separate from other types of leave, such as family and medical leave protected by the California Family Rights Act—the CFRA. Employers must comply with both, where applicable.

What Are the Required Sick Leave Policies and Obligations for CA Employers?

Employers must meet specific requirements to comply with California’s sick leave law—from posters and pay stubs to local ordinance alignment and anti-retaliation rules. Getting the details right protects both the business and its workforce.

Notice, Posting, and Recordkeeping Requirements

Compliance starts with proper communication. Employers must display the updated sick leave poster in a conspicuous location where employees can easily see it. The poster must be in English and any other language spoken by at least 5% of the workforce. California’s Department of Industrial Relations provides free downloadable posters that meet legal requirements. And even better, Mosey automates your labor law poster updates so you’ll never be scrambling to comply. Find all the required posters for each state in one place.

Every pay period, employers must show available sick leave hours on employee pay stubs or in a separate document provided with wages. This requirement applies whether you use paper checks, direct deposit, or electronic pay stubs. The information must be clear and accurate, reflecting current balances after any usage or accrual.

Recordkeeping is equally critical. Employers must maintain sick leave records for at least three years, documenting hours accrued, used, and available for each employee. These records must be available for inspection by the Labor Commissioner if requested. Many employers integrate sick leave tracking with their payroll systems to ensure accuracy and accessibility.

Policy Requirements and Best Practices

Your sick leave policy must meet minimum state requirements while remaining clear and practical for your workforce. The policy should explain accrual rates, usage procedures, and any company-specific rules that exceed state minimums. If PTO policies (paid time off) combine sick leave with vacation or personal time, companies must ensure the policy provides at least as much sick leave as required by law and allows usage for all legally permitted purposes.

Integration with local ordinances requires careful attention. Cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Diego have their own sick time laws, often with higher accrual rates, broader usage allowances, or additional notice requirements.

Employers must also comply with whichever law provides greater benefits to employees. This might mean maintaining different policies for different locations or adopting the most generous standards company-wide.

California strictly prohibits retaliation against employees who request or use sick time. Employers cannot discipline, demote, or terminate employees for exercising their sick leave rights.

Also, they cannot require employees to find replacement coverage as a condition of using sick leave. Creating a culture that respects these protections helps avoid complaints and maintains positive employee relations.

Special Considerations: Local Sick Leave Laws in California

Several California cities have enacted sick leave ordinances that exceed state requirements.

• Los Angeles requires 48 hours of annual sick leave for employers with 26 or more employees.
• San Francisco mandates 72 hours for employers with 10 or more employees, with smaller employers providing 40 hours.
• Oakland’s ordinance includes 40 hours for small employers (fewer than 10 employees) and 72 hours for larger ones.

These local laws often include additional provisions beyond hour requirements. Some expand the definition of family members, allow sick leave use for additional purposes, or require different sick leave notice procedures.

San Francisco, for instance, requires employers to provide notice of investigation findings when employees file sick leave complaints. Oakland mandates specific notice language on pay stubs beyond state requirements.

When state and local laws conflict, employers must follow whichever provision most benefits the employee. This typically means providing the greater amount of sick leave, allowing the broader range of uses, and following the most protective procedural requirements.

Likewise, multi-location employers often find it simpler to adopt the highest standard across all California locations rather than maintaining location-specific sick time policies.

Stay Compliant with Mosey

In the bigger picture, California’s paid sick leave requirements are a part of the state’s broader commitment to protecting worker health and financial security.

For employers, staying compliant means understanding not just state minimums and CA labor laws in general but also the patchwork of local ordinances that may apply to your locations. For employees, these laws provide crucial protections that ensure illness doesn’t mean choosing between health and a paycheck.

The complexity doesn’t stop at understanding the rules, of course. Implementation requires updating policies, training managers, adjusting payroll systems, and maintaining detailed records. As laws continue to evolve and enforcement increases, the cost of non-compliance—both financial and reputational—makes getting it right more critical than ever.

That’s where Mosey steps in. Our compliance platform automates critical—but time-consuming and demanding—HR tasks and processes to give your team what it needs most: bandwidth and time. Want alerts on labor law changes to ensure you’re always current? Or automated handbook updates to manage multi-state complexities with ease? That’s what Mosey brings to the table, transforming compliance from a burden into a genuine competitive advantage.

Ready to simplify sick leave compliance and reduce your compliance risk? Schedule a demo with Mosey today and see what a difference our industry-best platform can make for your team, compliance function, and organization.

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