§ 23-372 — Accrual of earned paid sick time

(Caution: 1998 Prop. 105 applies)

A. Employees of an employer with 15 or more employees shall accrue a minimum of one hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, but employees shall not be entitled to accrue or use more than 40 hours of earned paid sick time per year, unless the employer selects a higher limit.

B. Employees of an employer with fewer than 15 employees shall accrue a minimum of one hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, but employees shall not be entitled to accrue or use more than 24 hours of earned paid sick time per year, unless the employer selects a higher limit.

C. In determining the number of employees performing work for an employer for compensation during a given week, all employees performing work for compensation on a full-time, part-time or temporary basis shall be counted. In situations in which the number of employees who work for an employer for compensation per week fluctuates above and below 15 employees per week over the course of the year, an employer is required to provide earned paid sick time pursuant to subsection A of this section if it maintained 15 or more employees on the payroll for some portion of a day in each of 20 different calendar weeks, whether or not the weeks were consecutive, in either the current or the preceding year (irrespective of whether the same individuals were in employment in each day).

D. All employees shall accrue earned paid sick time as follows:

1. Earned paid sick time as provided in this section shall begin to accrue at the commencement of employment or on July 1, 2017, whichever is later. An employer may provide all earned paid sick time that an employee is expected to accrue in a year at the beginning of the year.

2. An employee may use earned paid sick time as it is accrued, except that an employer may require an employee hired after July 1, 2017, to wait until the ninetieth calendar day after commencing employment before using accrued earned paid sick time, unless otherwise permitted by the employer.

3. Employees who are exempt from overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 United States Code section 213(A)(1)) will be assumed to work 40 hours in each work week for purposes of earned paid sick time accrual unless their normal work week is less than 40 hours, in which case earned paid sick time accrues based upon that normal work week.

4. Earned paid sick time shall be carried over to the following year, subject to the limitations on usage in subsections A and B. Alternatively, in lieu of carryover of unused earned paid sick time from one year to the next, an employer may pay an employee for unused earned paid sick time at the end of a year and provide the employee with an amount of earned paid sick time that meets or exceeds the requirements of this article that is available for the employee's immediate use at the beginning of the subsequent year.

5. If an employee is transferred to a separate division, entity or location, but remains employed by the same employer, the employee is entitled to all earned paid sick time accrued at the prior division, entity or location and is entitled to use all earned paid sick time as provided in this section. When there is a separation from employment and the employee is rehired within nine months of separation by the same employer, previously accrued earned paid sick time that had not been used shall be reinstated. Further, the employee shall be entitled to use accrued earned paid sick time and accrue additional earned paid sick time at the re-commencement of employment.

6. When a different employer succeeds or takes the place of an existing employer, all employees of the original employer who remain employed by the successor employer are entitled to all earned paid sick time they accrued when employed by the original employer, and are entitled to use earned paid sick time previously accrued.

7. At its discretion, an employer may loan earned paid sick time to an employee in advance of accrual by such employee.

E. Any employer with a paid leave policy, such as a paid time off policy, who makes available an amount of paid leave sufficient to meet the accrual requirements of this section that may be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as earned paid sick time under this article is not required to provide additional paid sick time.

F. Nothing in this article shall be construed as requiring financial or other reimbursement to an employee from an employer upon the employee's termination, resignation, retirement or other separation from employment for accrued earned paid sick time that has not been used.