Faculty Rights Tip: SB 114 Offers Faculty Supplemental Paid Sick Leave

Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 114 which provides additional paid sick leave in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

SB 114, COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, requires businesses and organizations with at least 26 employees to provide up to 80 hours of COVID-19 sick leave; the law is retroactive to January 1, 2022, and extends until the end of September.

However, CFA leaders negotiated an MOU with the CSU which further extends this leave until December 31, 2022. CFA also secured an agreement with the CSU that this form of leave “will be paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay and will not be subject to the daily pay limit contained in SB 114.”

Under SB 114, up to 40 hours may be used for isolation and quarantine, being vaccinated, and caring for a child whose school or childcare facility closes due to the pandemic. An additional 40 hours may be used if an employee tests positive or needs to care for family members who test positive for COVID-19. This bill enables faculty members to use this form of expanded leave instead of using up sick or unpaid leave to deal with COVID-19 issues.

SB 114 FAQs from the Department of Labor are available here. CFA and CSU management agreed to extend the timeline for use beyond SB 114’s September 2022 expiration. Faculty may use this leave until December 31, 2022.

Faculty who allege a violation of SB 114 can file a claim with the Labor Commissioner’s Office/California Department of Industrial Relations.

On a related note, Exclusion Pay is required for eligible employees who have to isolate due to COVID-19 exposure at work and cannot telework. FAQs on Exclusion Pay Under the Emergency Temporary Standard are here.

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