Sick Leave Protection Act
Summary: The Sick Leave Protection Act guarantees employees the right to sick leave and allows them to use sick leave for themselves or to care for family members who are ill.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This Act shall be called the “Sick Leave Protection Act.”
SECTION 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE
(A) FINDINGS—The legislature finds that:
1. Working Americans need to take time off for their own health care needs or to perform essential caretaking responsibilities for their family members, including children, spouses, parents, parents-in-law, and others for whom they are caretakers.
2. However, the majority of middle income Americans lack paid leave for self-care or to care for a family member. Low-income Americans are significantly worse off. Of low-income families (the poorest 25 percent), 76 percent lack regular sick leave. For families in the next two quartiles, 63 percent and 54 percent, respectively, lack regular sick leave. Even in the highest income quartile, 40 percent of families lack regular sick leave. Less than half of workers who have paid sick leave can use it to care for ill children.
3. It is in the state’s interest to ensure that workers from all socioeconomic groups can care for their own health and the health of their families while prospering at work.
(B) PURPOSE—This Act is enacted to protect the health and safety of workers and their families by requiring employers to provide a minimum level of paid sick leave including leave for family care.
SECTION 3. SICK LEAVE PROTECTION
After section XXX, the following new section XXX shall be inserted:
(A) DEFINITIONS—In this section:
1. “Child” means a biological, adopted or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis who is:
a. Under eighteen years of age; or
b. Eighteen years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
2. “Employee” and “Employer” have the same meanings as in [cite the State Fair Labor Standards Act but ensure that the definition covers state and local government employees].
3. “Grandparent” means a parent of a parent.
4. “Health care professional” means a person licensed under federal or state law to provide health care services.
5. “Parent” means a biological, foster or adoptive parent, stepparent, legal guardian, or an individual who stood in loco parentis when a person was a child.
6. “Pro rata” means the proportion of each of the benefits offered to full-time employees that are offered to part-time employees that, for each benefit, is equal to the ratio of part-time hours worked to full-time hours worked.
7 “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Department of [Labor].
8. “Sick leave” means an increment of compensated leave provided by an employer to an employee as a benefit of employment for use by the employee during an absence from employment for personal for family illness described in subsection (C)(1).
9. “Spouse” means a husband, wife or domestic partner.
(B) ACCUMULATION OF PAID SICK LEAVE
1. An employer shall provide each employee not less than:
a. Ten days of sick leave with pay annually for employees working 30 or more hours per week; or
b. A pro rata number of days of sick leave with pay annually for employees working less than 30 hours per week on a year-round basis; or 1,250 hours throughout the year involved.
2. Sick leave shall accrue at least monthly and may be used as accrued.
3. For periods of sick leave that are shorter than a normal workday, leave shall be counted on an hourly basis, or in the smallest increment that the employer’s payroll system uses to account for absences or use of leave.
4. If the schedule of an employee varies from week to week, a weekly average of the hours worked over the 12-week period prior to the beginning of a sick leave period shall be used to calculate the employee’s normal workweek for the purpose of determining the amount of sick leave to which the employee is entitled.
(C) USE OF PAID SICK LEAVE
1. Sick leave accrued under this section may be used by an employee for any of the following:
a. An absence resulting from a physical or mental illness, injury or medical condition of the employee.
b. An absence resulting from obtaining professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventive medical care, for the employee.
c. An absence for the purpose of caring for a child, parent, grandparent, spouse, or any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship, who has any of the conditions or needs for diagnosis or care described in paragraph (a) or (b).
2. An employee shall make a reasonable effort to schedule leave in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.
3. If a period of sick leave exceeds three consecutive days, an employer may require the employee to produce a document signed by a health care professional certifying the medical need for sick leave.
(D) EFFECT ON CURRENT LEAVE POLICIES
1. An employer with a leave policy that provides paid leave options shall not be required to modify such policy, if such policy offers an employee the option, at the employee’s discretion, to take paid sick leave that is at least equivalent to the sick leave required by this section.
2. An employer may not eliminate or reduce leave in existence on the date of enactment of this Act, regardless of the type of such leave, in order to comply with the provisions of this Act.
(E) EDUCATION AND POSTING REQUIREMENT
1. The Secretary shall develop, implement and maintain a program to educate employees about the rights granted to them under this section.
2. Each employer shall post and keep posted a notice, in a form and at a location approved by the Secretary, delineating the rights granted to employees by this section.
(F) ENFORCEMENT
1. An employer shall not discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, discipline, or otherwise discriminate against an employee because the employee exercised, or attempted to exercise, any right under this section, or filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this section.
2. This section shall be enforced by [appropriate state agency], which shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement and administer compliance. Regulations shall include procedures to receive, investigate and attempt to resolve complaints, and to bring actions in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover appropriate relief for aggrieved employees. This section may also be enforced by a private cause of action under [appropriate section of state law].
3. In any action under this section in which an employee prevails:
a. The employee shall be awarded monetary relief, including back pay in an amount equal to the difference between the employee’s actual earnings and what the employee would have earned but for the employer’s unlawful practices, and an additional amount in punitive damages, as appropriate.
b. The employer shall pay a reasonable attorney’s fee, reasonable expert witness fees, and other costs of the action.
c. The employer shall be enjoined from continuing to violate this section, and the employer may be ordered to take such additional affirmative steps as are necessary.
SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2006. However, in the case of a collective bargaining agreement in effect on the effective date, this Act shall take effect on the date of the termination of such agreement or on July 1, 2007, whichever is earlier.