Update Applicable to:
All employers in the state of California.
What happened?
On August 31, 2022, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 152 (AB 152), which, if signed by Governor Newsom, will establish the COVID-19 Relief Grant Program and extend the COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave provisions.
What are the details?
Effective immediately upon signage by Governor Newsom, AB 152 establishes the COVID-19 Relief Grant Program within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to help qualified small businesses or nonprofits with grants up to $50,000 to reimburse COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave provided between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022.
The bill provides funds for an additional $70 million in grants in addition to the $250 million passed in the budget earlier this year for a total of $320 million.
The bill also extends COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave provisions from September 30, 2022, to December 31, 2022, to enable employees to take any unused COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave, keeping the total amount of leave available the same.
AB 152 states that an employer has no obligation to provide additional COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave if the employee refuses to submit to a test. Employers can ask for additional tests between days five and 10 after the first positive test.
For more information, please see the links below:
What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links provided above and be prepared to continue providing supplemental paid sick leave to employees once the governor has signed the bill.
