Don’t leave COVID-19 out of paid time off considerations
This year is the 50th anniversary of the familiar saying — “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” — spoken by Yogi Berra, baseball Hall of Famer and cultural icon. Despite the federal government declaring the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and national emergency, Mr. Berra’s notable quotable applies to COVID-19 leave requirements in several parts of the country.
A few jurisdictions prudently switched to a permanent standard for future state and/or federally declared PHEs. Here is a non-exhaustive summary of the remaining supplemental paid leave requirements for COVID-19 and future PHEs:
States
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ColoradoThe state converted its temporary supplemental COVID-19 provisions to a permanent standard for federal, state, and local PHEs in its existing paid sick leave law, the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (see also INFO #6B). The required supplemental PHE leave related to COVID-19 — expanded to include flu, RSV and similar respiratory illness in November 2022 — expired on June 8.
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NevadaCurrent law requires employers to provide paid COVID-19 vaccination leave (two hours per dose) through the end of 2023.
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New YorkA 2022 law extended the expiration date for paid COVID-19 vaccination leave until the end of 2023. Existing guidance confirms that benefits through New York’s existing paid family leave and disability leave programs are available for employees and family members required to quarantine or isolate due to COVID-19. In some cases, supplemental paid sick leave may also be available for the quarantine period or for employer-required isolation.
Localities
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Cook County, IL (Chicago area)If an employer requires employees to be vaccinated, a 2021 ordinance requires supplemental pay for up to four hours per dose for appointments occurring during the workday or shift. Employers cannot require vaccines to be obtained outside of work hours, but if the employer doesn’t require the vaccine, employees can use paid sick leave time earned under the county’s existing earned sick leave mandate. For details, see the county’s webpage.
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Philadelphia, PAAt the start of 2022, an ordinance extended the city’s paid public health emergency leave (PHEL) requirement through the end of 2023. Employers with 25 or more employees must provide up to 40 hours of paid leave for COVID-19-related reasons. The term “employee” is limited to those who work within city limits, those who would work within city limits but are teleworking because of COVID-19, and those who work in multiple locations but at least 51% of the time within city limits. For details, see the city’s webpage.
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San Francisco, CA (city and county)Last year, voters approved Proposition G, which requires employers with at least 100 employees globally to provide up to 80 hours of leave during a local or statewide, generally related to a communicable disease or air quality. Some nonprofit organizations are exempt. The requirement to provide PHEL for COVID-19 ended on February 28. For details, see the city and county webpage.
Employers should consider two action steps. First, review existing state and local paid sick leave (PSL) requirements and paid family and medical leave mandates that may apply when an employee tests positive for COVID-19, depending on the circumstances. For more details, see Mercer’s PSL GRIST and PFML GRIST. Second, monitor further developments in the above jurisdictions where applicable.
Taking these precautions will help avoid another Yogi-ism: “We made too many wrong mistakes.”