§ 12W.4. USE OF PAID SICK LEAVE.

(a) An employee may use paid sick leave not only when he or she is ill or injured or for the purpose of the employee’s receiving medical care, treatment, or diagnosis, as specified more fully in California Labor Code Section 233(b)(4) and Section 12W.2(e) of this Code, but also to aid or care for the following persons when they are likewise ill or injured or receiving medical care, treatment, or diagnosis: Child; parent; legal guardian or ward; sibling; grandparent; grandchild; and spouse, registered domestic partner under any state or local law, or designated person. The employee may use all or any percentage of his or her paid sick leave to aid or care for the aforementioned persons.

(1) “Child,” “parent,” “sibling,” “grandparent,” “grandchild.” The aforementioned child, parent, sibling, grandparent, and grandchild relationships include not only biological relationships but also relationships resulting from adoption; step-relationships; and foster care relationships.

(2) “Child” also includes a child of a domestic partner and a child of a person standing in loco parentis.

(3) “Parent” also includes a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child, and a person who is a biological, adoptive, or foster parent, stepparent, or guardian of the employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner.

(4) “Designated person.” If the employee has no spouse or registered domestic partner, the employee may designate one person as to whom the employee may use paid sick leave to aid or care for the person. The opportunity to make such a designation shall be extended to the employee no later than the date on which the employee has worked 30 hours after paid sick leave begins to accrue pursuant to Section 12W.3(a). There shall be a window of 10 work days for the employee to make this designation. Thereafter, the opportunity to make such a designation, including the opportunity to change such a designation previously made, shall be extended to the employee on an annual basis, with a window of 10 work days for the employee to make the designation.

(b) In addition to the purposes for which an employee may use paid sick leave under subsection (a), an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking may use paid sick leave for the purposes described in Sections 230(c) and 231.1(a) of the California Labor Code.

(c) An employee may use paid sick leave for purposes related to donating the employee’s bone marrow or an organ of the employee to another person. Further, an employee may use paid sick leave to care for or assist a person, as specified in Section 12W.4(a), for purposes related to that person’s donating bone marrow or an organ to another person.

(d) An employee shall be entitled to use accrued paid sick leave beginning on the 90th day of employment, after which day the employee may use paid sick leave as it is accrued.

(e) An employer may not require, as a condition of an employee’s taking paid sick leave, that the employee search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee is on paid sick leave.

(f) An employer may not require, as a condition of an employee’s taking paid sick leave, that the employee take paid sick leave in increments of more than one hour, unless the Agency, by rule or regulation, authorizes a larger increment in particular circumstances provided that the increment is no larger than the employer may require under state law.

(g) An employer may require employees to give reasonable notification of an absence from work for which paid sick leave is or will be used.

(h) An employer may only take reasonable measures to verify or document that an employee’s use of paid sick leave is lawful.

(i) An employer shall provide payment for sick leave taken by an employee no later than the payday for the next regular payroll period after the sick leave was taken.

(Added by Proposition F, 11/7/2006; amended by , 6/7/2016)