Update Applicable to:
All employers in the city of Los Angeles, California.
What happened?
On December 7, 2022, The Los Angeles City Council voted to end the local emergency in February 2023. On January 10, 2023, the Council confirmed this decision and announced the state of emergency would end on February 1, 2023, thereby triggering the end of the city’s supplemental paid sick leave.
What are the details?
Starting at the end of 2020/early 2021, many California cities codified supplemental COVID-related paid sick leave, providing benefits beyond the state’s COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (“2022 SPSL”). Although most of these locales have phased out their supplemental programs, three California cities (Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland) and one county (Los Angeles) still have provisions above and beyond state requirements.
The Los Angeles City Council voted to end the city’s state of emergency effective February 1, 2023, thereby triggering the end of the city’s supplemental paid sick leave. Per the ordinance, supplemental leave expires “two weeks after the expiration of the local emergency period,” or February 15, 2022.
What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links provided above and plan for February and take appropriate steps now with human resources, payroll, and any other support department that receives, evaluates, and processes employee COVID-related leave requests.
