Sick-leave law finalized

Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature made Assembly Bill 1522 law on Sept. 10, guaranteeing California’s workers a few paid sick days each year.

Currently, about 40 percent of the state’s employees aren’t provided paid sick leave, according to California Healthline. Starting in July 2015, employers statewide will be required to provide at least three days of sick leave for employees working 30 or more calendar days a year. An exemption for in-home health care providers was added after estimates found that including those workers would cost the state $106 million annually.

Art Pulaski, executive secretary and treasurer of the California Labor Federation, takes issue with that exemption. “Home care workers, like all workers, deserve the opportunity to earn paid sick days on the job.”

California joined Connecticut as the only states to enact a sick-leave law.