California Statewide Paid Sick Leave Minimum

Labor Code 245-249 requires every California employer to provide paid sick leave to employees who work 30 or more days in a year. SB 616 (2023) increased the minimum accrual to 40 hours or 5 days per year, effective January 1, 2024. Employees accrue at least one hour for every 30 hours worked or receive a lump-sum frontload. Local governments are not preempted and may enact more generous paid leave; San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, Berkeley, Emeryville, and Santa Monica require more. State Paid Family Leave (Unemployment Insurance Code 3300-3306) also applies statewide.

Violations subject employers to administrative penalties, back wages, treble damages up to $4,000, and civil penalties under Labor Code 248.5 enforced by the Labor Commissioner.