Paid sick leave sounds like one of the simpler compliance topics, until you're the one doing the math. California requires nearly every employer to provide it, with no small-business exemption: employees earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, or you can front-load the full amount at once instead of tracking accrual all year. Covered employees must be allowed at least 40 hours or 5 days of annual use, whichever is greater. Under an accrual plan, unused leave carries over and any total accrual cap must be at least 80 hours or 10 days, whichever is greater. A qualifying full front-load method can remove the state carryover requirement; local rules may differ.
Where employers most often trip up is assuming the state minimum is the whole picture. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, Santa Monica, and Berkeley all have their own sick leave ordinances that are more generous than state law, and when local and state rules disagree, employees get whichever version treats them better. The list of qualifying reasons has also grown: beyond an employee's own illness or a family member's care, it now reaches situations tied to being a crime victim, on top of the existing domestic violence and safety-related protections.
What you can do
Confirm your policy allows at least 40 hours or 5 days of use, whichever is greater, and check whether local rules require more.
Make sure pay stubs or an equivalent document show each employee's available sick leave balance every pay period; it's a specific legal requirement, not just good practice.
Review your handbook language against the current list of qualifying uses, since it's broader than most people assume and continues to expand.
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