1. Are Safe & Sick Leave Policies Making you Ill?

2. Disclaimer
The information in this presentation was compiled from sources believed to be reliable, for informational purposes only.
Any and all information contained herein is not intended to constitute legal advice.
You should consult with your own attorneys when developing programs and policies.
Now you’ve been warned . . .(or disclaimed)

3. Have passed safe and sick leave laws
What’s going on????
2006 – San Francisco was the first jurisdiction in the US to require paid sick leave
Legislation has passed at an accelerated rate in the last 2-3 years
5 States (California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont!)
District of Columbia
1 County
18 cities
Have passed safe and sick leave laws
More to come – this is not going away

4. How hard can it really be?
Lack of uniform approach makes record keeping and compliance difficult
Aligning existing policies such as Paid Time Off with specific minimum sick leave requirements can be challenging
Extending sick time benefits to temporary and part-time workers who may not have previously been eligible
Different carryover balance requirements
Some laws don’t address how to calculate sick-time for certain employees

5. Cross-Jurisdictional What?
Tricky issue when employees travel to a jurisdiction that requires paid sick leave
Depending on how covered employees are defined it could be that your employees become eligible for sick leave in that jurisdiction
Think sales people, construction workers or contingent staffing agency workers where the employee may work for months in an area with a sick leave law
Can be especially difficult where multiple laws may be in effect – think Seattle, & Tacoma
Check carefully when two or more jurisdictions’ paid sick leave laws apply to any one employee – you may be required to comply with both laws

6. Paid Leave Laws Seattle Paid Sick and Safe Time
Effective: September 1, 2012; Amended April 1,
Tacoma Paid Leave Ordinance
Effective February 1,
Oregon Sick Leave Law
Effective January 1, 2016
California Paid Sick Leave Law
Effective July 15, 2015

7. Overview – the common theme
In general, all these laws provide protected time off for personal illness, injury, health condition or preventative care and for family member illness, injury, health condition or preventative care.
To seek law enforcement or legal help for domestic violence or sexual assault. (For self and some family members).
To seek safety from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. (For self and some family members).

8. A Little Variation
Sick leave may be used to deal with the death of a family member within 60 days of the date on which the eligible employee receives notice of the death of a family member.
To care for an infant or newly adopted child under 18 years of age, or for a newly placed foster child under 18 years of age, or for an adopted or foster child older than 18 years of age if the child is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
When the place of employment has been closed by order of a public official or to care for a child whose schools has been closed by order of a public official.
For bereavement of a family member.
Closure of workplace or child’s school or place of care by public official to limit exposure to infectious agent, biological toxin or hazardous material.

9. Who is an “Employee”
The Paid Leave Ordinance applies to all Employees who work within the geographical boundaries of the City of Tacoma for more than 80 hours in a Calendar Year, regardless of whether their Employer is physically located in the City or not.
Employee means any individual employed by an employer, and includes:
Traditional employees, temporary workers, and part- time employees.
Infrequent or irregular employees who perform more than 80 hours of work in Tacoma within a calendar year. For example, employees who make pick-ups, deliveries or sales calls within the City are covered by the Ordinance for the hours that the Employees are physically in the City and performing work.
Employees supplied by an employment or staffing agency shall be deemed an employee of the agency absent a contractual agreement otherwise.
Employees who perform work “in whole or in substantial part” (at least 50 percent of the time) within Seattle’s city limits will be entitled to paid sick and safe leave. (changed from employees who “regularly work in Seattle”) – regardless of where the employer is located.
Full-time, part-time, temporary, and occasional-basis employees.
Employees who telecommute in Seattle.
Employees who stop in Seattle as a purpose of their work.
Paid Interns.

10. Who is an “Employee” Employee” includes, but is not limited to:
An individual who is paid on a piece-rate basis or the basis of the number of operations accomplished or quantity produced or handled;
Individuals paid on an hourly, salary or commission basis;
Home care workers as defined in ORS
All employees who work at least 30 days for the same employer within a year in California, including part-time, per diem, and temporary employees, are covered by this new law with some specific exceptions.

11. Who is NOT an Employee Federal, state, or county government employers.
Employees who work or telecommute outside of Seattle.
Employees who travel through Seattle.
Students enrolled in a work study program.
Unpaid Interns.
Federal, state, or county government employers.
Employees who work or telecommute outside of Tacoma.
Employees who travel through Tacoma.
Students enrolled in a work study program.
Independent contractors.

12. Who is Not an Employee
Employee” does not include:
An employee who receives paid sick time under federal law;
An independent contractor;
A participant in a work training program administered under a state or federal assistance program;
A participant in a work-study program that provides students in secondary or post-secondary educational institutions with employment opportunities for financial or vocational training;
A railroad worker exempted under the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act; and
An individual employed by that individual’s parent, spouse or child.
 Certain Employees Covered by Collective Bargaining Agreements (there are requirements!)
Providers of publicly-funded In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS).
Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements with specified provisions.
Individuals employed by an air carrier as a flight deck or cabin crew member, if they receive compensated time off at least equivalent to the requirements of the new law.
Retired annuitants working for governmental entities.

13. Seattle Paid Safe & Sick Leave
What’s the Plan?
Seattle Paid Safe & Sick Leave
General Information
Small (Tier 1) Employer
Medium (Tier 2) Employer
Large (Tier 3) Employer
Full Time Equivalents (FTEs)
More than 4-49 employees
More than 49 to 249 employees
250 or more employees
Accrual of paid sick/safe time
1 hour / 40 hours worked
1 hour / 30 hours worked
Use of paid sick/safe time
40 hours / calendar year
56 hours / calendar year
72 hours / calendar year
Carryover of unused paid sick/safe time

14. Tacoma Paid Leave
All employees earn one hour for every 40 hours worked within Tacoma, up to 24 hours within a calendar year.
Use of paid leave is limited to 40 hours in a calendar year.

15. Oregon Sick Leave Law
The state law pre-empts all city level sick leave laws.
All employers with 10 or more employees (at least 6 for employers located in Portland) in Oregon must provide up to 40 hours of paid leave per year.
 Employers with less than 10 employees (less than 6 for employers located in Portland) must provide up to 40 hours of unpaid protected sick time.
 Employees accrue 1 hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked or 1-1/3 hours for every 40 hours worked.

16. California Paid Sick Leave Law
Does NOT pre-empt local city level sick leave laws.
If employees are subject to local sick leave ordinances, the employer must comply with both the local and California laws, which may differ in some respects. The employer must provide the provision or benefit that is most generous to the employee.
San Francisco, Oakland, Emeryville, Long Beach & LA (hotel workers),
Santa Monica (July 1, 2016)
San Diego (up for vote June 2016)

17. California Paid Sick Leave Law
Employees under an accrual plan must earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for each 30 hours of work (the 1:30 schedule).
Although employers may adopt or keep other types of accrual schedules, the schedule must result in an employee having at least 24 hours of accrued sick leave or paid time off by the 120th calendar day of employment.

18. Accruals Begin Use Begins On the first day of employment
Seattle & Tacoma: After 180th calendar day from the beginning of employment.
Oregon: Beginning on the 91st calendar day of employment with the employer.
California: beginning on the 90th day of employment.

19. Accrue on “Hours Worked”
For Non-Exempt Employees: All hours worked including overtime hours.
For Exempt Employees under the FLSA: Deemed to work 40 hours per workweek, unless the employee’s normal workweek is less than 40 hours, in which case the employee shall accrue sick days based upon that normal workweek.

20. But then. . .
For purposes of determining the number of sick time hours accrued by an employee for whom recording the number of hours worked is not otherwise required by state and federal law, an employer may establish a reasonable method of calculating the number of hours worked by the employee, for example:
The number of hours in a work schedule agreed upon by the employer and the employee;
Billing hours; or
Any other established practice which provides a reasonable approximation of the hours actually worked by the employee.
Irregular/Infrequent Employees:
When there is a reasonable expectation that an employee will work 80 hours in a calendar year they become immediately covered by the Ordinance.
Once an employee becomes covered by the Ordinance, they remain covered through the next calendar year, even if they don’t meet the 80- hour threshold.
Once an employee is covered by the Ordinance the employer shall provide the employee with the amount of paid leave equal to what would have been accrued for the hours worked to date during the current calendar year.

21. Seattle: “Occasional Basis” Employee
Employees who work primarily outside the city of Seattle, but who work inside the city limits on an ad hoc, irregular basis. Only the hours worked in Seattle count toward accrual of PSST, and an employee who wants to use accrued PSST can only do so when working in Seattle during that time.
Accrual for occasional Basis employees begins after they have worked 240 hours in a calendar year. Accrual begins on the 241st hour; once an employee who works occasionally in Seattle has logged 240 hours in Seattle in a benefit year, the employee remains covered by the PSST ordinance for as long as that employee works with that particular employer. (changed from the current and next year).
Employers are responsible for tracking the hours of employees who work occasionally in Seattle, as well as notifying them of hours worked toward the 240 hour threshold. Employees may delegate the tracking to the employee, but the employer is ultimately responsible for ensuring employees know how to track their hours and have the means to do it.

22. Increments can be used in 15 minute increments. (changed from 1 hour)
An employee shall use accrued sick time in hourly increments, unless the employer permits the employee to use sick time in increments of less than one hour.
(2) If an employer can demonstrate that to provide sick leave in hourly increments would pose an undue hardship on the employer, the employer may require an employee to use accrued sick time in increments of more than one hour but no more than four hours, provided the employer allows the employee to use at least 56 hours of paid sick leave per year.
If an employer requires employees to take leave in increments of more than one hour and an employee lacks sufficient accrued sick time to cover the additional time away from work that the employee is requiring, the employer may not discipline the employee for taking the additional time or include the additional hours as violations of an absence control policy
can be used in 15 minute increments. (changed from 1 hour)
one hour increments unless the Employer establishes a written minimum use policy.
An employee may determine how much paid sick leave he or she needs to use, provided that an employer may set a reasonable minimum increment, not to exceed two hours, for the use of paid sick leave.

23. Some Other Rules Oregon – Paid and Unpaid Time:
An employee is entitled to use sick time in the manner that it was earned. For example, if an employer was required to provide paid sick time during the period of time in which an employee accrued such leave, the employee, when using sick time, is entitled to be paid for sick time accrued during this period even if the employer is no longer required to provide paid sick time.
Conversely, sick time does not need to be paid when used if, at the time the employee accrued the sick time, the employer was only required to provide unpaid sick time.
When an employee has available for use both paid sick time and unpaid sick time, the employee has the option of using either or both to cover the use of sick time.
Both Tacoma and Seattle have “location of use” guidelines:
All covered employees, including traditional employees, temporary workers, part-time employees and employees who perform work in Seattle on an occasional basis, shall be entitled to use paid sick/safe time during times that they are scheduled to perform work in Seattle.
Employer may require that accrued Paid Leave be used for shifts only within the City of Tacoma

24. What’s a year?
Year” includes any consecutive 12- month period, such as a calendar year, a tax year, a fiscal year, a contract year or the 12-month period beginning on the anniversary of the date of employment of the employee.
Employers are allowed to use any fixed, consecutive 12 month period of time for accrual, use, and carryover of PSST hours (changed from calendar year).
Either the 12-month period beginning January 1; the 12- month period beginning on the date of hire; or the fiscal year, and must be declared and consistently used by the employer.
Year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period.

25. Carryover - Seattle
Tier Three employers with a combined or universal leave policy, such as a paid time off (PTO) policy, shall permit employees to carry over up to 108 hours of unused paid leave.
Employers are not required to permit employees to carry over unused paid sick/safe time beyond the provisions.
Employers are required to permit employees to maintain and/or use their carried over paid sick/safe time while concurrently accruing new paid sick/safe time for every hour worked.
However, employers are not required to permit use of paid sick/safe time beyond the provisions.
In general Employees permitted to carry over unused hours to the next calendar year.
Tier One employers shall permit employees to carry over unused paid sick/safe time up to 40 hours.
Tier Two employers shall permit employees to carry over unused paid sick/safe time up to 56 hours.
Tier Three employers shall permit employees to carry over unused paid sick/safe time up to 72 hours.
Tier One or Tier Two employers with a combined or universal leave policy, such as a paid time off (PTO) policy, shall permit employees to carry over unused paid leave in accordance with carry over requirements for Tier One and Two employers.

26. Carryover - Tacoma
Employees may carry forward up to 24 hours of unused paid leave into the next year.
A combined total of up to 40 hours of carried over and newly accrued time may be used in the next calendar year

27. Carryover - Oregon
The employee may carry over up to 40 hours of unused sick time from one year to a subsequent year.
An employer may adopt a policy that limits:
An employee to accruing no more than 80 hours of sick time; or
An employee to using no more than 40 hours of sick time in a year.
An employer is not required to carry over unused sick time if, by mutual consent, the employer and an employee agree that:
If the employer has 10 or more employees working anywhere in this state, the employee will be paid for all unused paid sick time at the end of the year in which the sick time is accrued and the employer will credit the employee with an amount of paid sick time that meets the requirements of this section on the first day of the immediately subsequent year; or
If the employer has fewer than 10 employees working anywhere in this state, the employer will credit the employee with an amount of sick time that meets the requirements of this section on the first day of the immediately subsequent year

28. Carryover - California
Accrued paid sick days shall carry over to the following year of employment.
This section shall be satisfied and no accrual or carryover is required if the full amount of leave is received at the beginning of each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period. The term “full amount of leave” means three days or 24 hours. (DLSE Opinion Letter )
The language must necessarily be interpreted as requiring "24 hours or three days" of paid sick leave, whichever is more for an employee.
An employer may limit an employee’s use of accrued paid sick days to 24 hours or three days in each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period.
An employer has no obligation under this section to allow an employee’s total accrual of paid sick leave to exceed 48 hours or 6 days, provided that an employee’s rights to accrue and use paid sick leave are not limited other than as allowed under this section.

29. What about Frontloading? “Yes” under all plans
Employers who frontload the PSST at the start of the year do not have to allow carryover of unused hours because employees already have the mandated number of hours for use during the year.
An employer may satisfy its obligations by front-loading at least 40 hours of sick time or time off at the beginning of each year or, if the employer invokes the “undue hardship”, and requires its employees to use sick time in minimum increments of more than 1 hour, by front-loading 56 hours of sick time or time off at the beginning of each year
For employees employed by an employer for less than a full year, “front-load” means to assign and make available to an employee as soon as the employee becomes eligible to use sick time a number of hours of sick time that is the pro rata percentage of the hours the employee would be entitled to for an entire year based on the number of hours the employee
Permitted for accrual, use, and carry over, subject to terms and conditions established by the employer.
The employer must provide at least 24 hours or three days of paid sick leave per year and the full amount of this leave must be available for the employee’s use from the beginning of each year, except for initial hires where it must be available for use by the 120th day of employment.

30. And Universal Time Off, like PTO
Yes, under all city/state plans, as long as:
The plan is substantially equivalent
Provides for at least the same number of sick time hours an employee would earn under the city/state ordinances
Complies with all other minimum requirements, including but are not limited to provisions related to when employees can use sick time; the rate of accrual; the regular rate of pay; qualifying absences; conditions of notice and documentation; and employment protections.
California “grandfathers” plans in existence before June 1, Deemed to comply if:
The accrual provides no less than one day or 8 hours of accrued paid sick leave or paid time off within three months of employment per year, and
The employee was eligible to earn at least three days or 24 hours of paid sick leave or paid time off within 9 months of employment.
If the plan is modified it is no longer grandfathered and must comply with the new law.

31. Cash Out & Separation Pay Out
No, not unless the employer has a policy that provides for a payout.
Paid out leave is not required to be reinstated.
If employer allows, employees have the voluntary option to cash out unused PSST.
Employers are allowed, but are not required, to pay out accrued paid leave at termination. An employer must have a written payout policy, and the payment must be equal to or greater than the paid leave balance. Paid out leave is not required to be reinstated.
No city or state ordinance requires the employer to provide compensation to an employee for accrued, unused paid sick days upon termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment.

32. Rehire
An employer shall restore previously accrued unused sick time to an employee who is reemployed by that employer within 180 days of separation.
If an employee leaves employment with an employer before the 91st day of employment and subsequently is reemployed by that employer within 180 days of separation from employment, the employer shall restore the accrued sick time balance the employee had when the employee left the employment of the employer and the employee may use accrued sick time after the combined total of days of employment with the employer exceeds 90 calendar days.
PSST reinstated if an employee is rehired within 7 months by the same employer (even if at a different business location). Includes temporary employees. Immediately eligible to use accrued PSST if they were eligible before separation.
Accrued unused paid leave time is reinstated if an employee is rehired within 6 months by the same employer in the same calendar year. Previous employment shall count toward eligibility to use paid leave.
If an employee separates from an employer and is rehired within one year from the date of separation, previously accrued and unused paid sick days shall be reinstated. The employee shall be entitled to use those previously accrued and unused paid sick days and to accrue additional paid sick days upon rehiring, subject to use and accrual limitations.

33. Retention of Hours & Other Laws
Retention of accrued hours required:
By successor employers (sale, transfer, etc.)
When changing benefit years
Does not preempt or limit application of federal, state or other local laws and can be coordinated with leave laws such as FMLA, Domestic Violence Leave, Workers Comp.

34. Notice Seattle, Tacoma, California:
Employers must provide notice of available sick time each time wages are paid.
CA: On the paystub or document issued with the paystub.
Tacoma & Seattle: “Reasonable system” including on the paystub, online, , or memo.
Oregon:
Provide written notification at least quarterly to each employee of the amount of accrued and unused sick time available for use by the employee.
Inclusion of the amount of accrued and used sick time on the pay statement meets this requirement.

35. Record Keeping
Employers must retain PSST records for three years that indicate (changed from two years ):
Employee hours worked in Seattle.
Accrued PSST by employee.
Use of PSST by employee.
Employers must retain records for three years that contain:
Employee hours worked in Tacoma.
Amount of paid leave accrued by each employee.
Amount of paid leave used by each employee
Employee Name
Date of hire
Eligibility date for use of paid leave
Date and Time paid leave was used
Employers will need to keep records for at least three years that document the number of hours that each employee worked and paid sick days accrued and used by each employee.

36. When must you Pay? Tacoma, Oregon & California:
No later than the payday for the next regular payroll period after the sick leave is taken.
Oregon adds a little extra: An employer may not reduce an employee’s benefits, including but not limited to health care benefits, because the employee uses accrued sick time to which the employee is entitled.

37. Rate of Pay - Non-Exempt Employees
For nonexempt employees paid an hourly wage, the hourly rate of pay shall be the same hourly wage the employee would have earned during the time which paid sick/safe time is taken.
An employer must apply a consistent methodology when calculating the regular rates of pay to similarly situated employees.
Must be no less than the applicable statutory minimum wage rate.
Excludes holiday pay or other premium rates, bonus or other type of incentives, and tips.
Does not include tips, gratuities or travel allowance.
Excludes lost tips and commissions that the employee might have received when PSST was taken.

38. Rate of Pay – California Non-Exempt
An employer shall calculate paid sick leave using any of the following calculations:
Paid sick time for nonexempt employees shall be calculated in the same manner as the regular rate of pay for the workweek in which the employee uses paid sick time, whether or not the employee actually works overtime in that workweek.
Paid sick time for nonexempt employees shall be calculated by dividing the employee’s total wages, not including overtime premium pay, by the employee’s total hours worked in the full pay periods of the prior 90 days of employment.

39. Overtime & Differential
For nonexempt employees who use paid sick/safe time for hours that would have been overtime hours if worked, employers are not required to apply overtime standards to an employee's hourly rate of pay.
Mandatory overtime. Employers are required to permit use of paid sick/safe time for mandatory overtime hours that an employee was scheduled to work.
Voluntary overtime. Employers are not required to permit use of paid sick/safe time for voluntary overtime hours that the employee elected or agreed to add to his or her schedule.
Where an employee’s regular rate of pay includes a differential meant to compensate the employee for work performed under differing conditions (for example, a shift differential for working at night), such a differential rate is not considered to be a premium rate.

40. Salaried Employees
The hourly rate of pay for an employee exempt from overtime is determined by dividing the annual salary by 52 weeks to get the weekly salary and the weekly salary by 40 hours to get the hourly rate.
If the employee typically works less than 40 hours a week use the hours normally worked.
The regular rate of pay means the employee’s total wages earned during the pay period covered by the salary divided by the number of hours agreed to be worked in the pay period which the salary is intended to compensate.
For an employee paid a salary whose hours of work vary from work week to work week, for the purpose of calculating the regular rate of pay to be used for the payment of sick time, the employee is presumed to work 40 hours in each workweek.
For nonexempt employees paid an annual salary, the hourly rate of pay shall be determined by dividing the annual salary by 52 to get the weekly salary and dividing the weekly salary by 40 or fewer hours, even if the non-exempt employee regularly works more than 40 hours per week.
Paid sick time for exempt employees shall be calculated in the same manner as the employer calculates wages for other forms of paid leave time.

41. Commission & Piecework
For employees paid on a commission, piece- rate or fee-for-service basis, the regular rate of pay means the rate of pay agreed upon by the employer and the employee. In the absence of a previously established regular rate of pay, sick time shall be compensated at a rate of no less than the applicable statutory minimum wage.
For employees who are paid on a commission (whether base wage plus commission or commission only) or piecework basis (whether base wage plus piecework or piecework only), the hourly rate of pay shall be the base wage or applicable minimum wage, whichever is greater.
In order to determine how much the employer must pay the employee during sick leave, the employer must calculate the employee’s regular rate of pay.  If the employee’s pay fluctuates, such as being paid commissions or by piece rate, the employee’s regular rate of pay is calculated by dividing their total compensation for the previous 90 days by the number of hours worked. 
Outside salesperson as defined by Washington State Labor & Industries (WAC ). The hourly rate of pay for an “outside salesperson” is computed as the amount of commission earned divided by the number of hours worked in the same pay period.

42. Indeterminate Shift Seattle, Tacoma, Oregon:
If an employee uses sick time for a shift of indeterminate length (for example, a shift that is defined by business needs rather than a specified number of hours), the employer may determine the amount of sick time used by the employee based on the number of hours worked by a replacement employee in the same shift or a similarly situated employee who works the same shift or who has worked a similar shift in the past.

43. On Call Pay
For employees who are scheduled for on- call shifts and are compensated for the scheduled time, regardless of whether work is performed, employers must permit use of paid sick/safe time.
For employees who are scheduled for on- call shifts and are compensated only if work is performed, employers may, but are not required to, permit use of paid sick/safe time.
On-call employees are entitled to use sick time for hours they have been scheduled to work. Being “scheduled to work” does not include shifts for which an employee has been asked to be available or on-call, unless the employee is working while on- call as defined in OAR (3).
If, by agreement with the employer, an on- call employee is to be paid for a scheduled shift regardless of whether the employee actually works the shift, the employer must provide sick time.

44. Two or More Jobs/Fluctuating Shifts
For employees who perform work for two or more jobs at different rates of pay for the same employer, the hourly rate of pay shall be equal to the scheduled rate of pay for the job during which paid sick time is taken.
For employees whose rates of pay fluctuate for the same job (e.g. wage augmentation other than commission, tips or overtime), the hourly rate of pay shall be equal to the scheduled rate(s) of pay for the job during which paid sick/safe time is taken
For employees who are paid multiple hourly rates of pay, the regular rate of pay means either:
(A) The wages the employee would have been paid, if known, for the period of time in which sick time is used; or
(B) The weighted average of all regular rates of pay during the previous pay period.
No reference – but look at requirements to calculate regular rate of pay by dividing their total compensation for the previous 90 days by the number of hours worked.

45. Shift Swap
Employee may not be required to search for or find a replacement worker as a condition of the employee’s use of accrued sick time.
Upon mutual consent by the employee and the employer, an employee may work additional hours or shifts to compensate for hours or shifts during which the employee was absent from work without using accrued sick time for the hours or shifts missed.
However, the employer may not require the employee to work additional hours or shifts authorized by this subsection.
If the employee works additional hours or shifts, the employer must comply with any applicable federal, state or local laws regarding overtime pay.
Upon mutual consent by the employee and the employer, an employee may work (trade) additional hours or shifts during the same or next pay period without using available paid sick or safe time for the original missed hours or shifts.

46. Shift Swap – Eating & Drinking Establishments
For eating/drinking establishments employers may offer substitute hours/shifts to employees who request PSST. If an employee chooses to work substitute hours/shifts the employer may deduct PSST in accordance with Ordinance requirements.
John works for a restaurant and has accrued four hours of PSST. He becomes sick just before his 6-10 PM shift – he may stay home and use PSST for the four hours he missed at work. By mutual consent, John may also stay home and make-up the missed hours from work in a substitute shift during the same or next pay-period. For example, John could work the following Wednesday from PM. To pay John for this substitute shift his employer may deduct 4 hours of PSST from his available leave.
An Employer of an eating and/or drinking establishment may offer substitute hours or shifts to an Employee who has requested to use Paid Leave. The Employee is not required to accept such hours or shifts if they are offered.
If the Employee accepts and works the substitute hours or shifts, the Employer may deduct the amount of time worked during the substitute shift or the amount of time requested for Paid Leave, whichever is smaller, from the Employee’s accrued leave time.
No deduction of accrued leave without pay for substitute hours/shifts may occur unless the conditions outlined in this rule are met.

47. Spokane: Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance (2017)
Employees covered under the ordinance will accrue one (1) hour of leave for every 30 hours worked.
Employees of businesses that have fewer than 10 employees may use up to 24 hours of leave accrued under this ordinance. Immediate family members of the business owners are not included in the employee count.
Employees of businesses that have 10 or more employees may use up to 40 hours of leave accrued under this ordinance.
The ordinance will apply to all employers in the City of Spokane whose employees physically perform more than 240 hours of work within the City.
The ordinance does not apply to work-study students, independent contractors, seasonal workers or those engaged in “construction work” as defined in WAC
The ordinance gives startup businesses a year after the issuance of their first City of Spokane business licenses before they must comply with all the requirements.
Employees may use leave for purposes of: Diagnosing, caring or treating their own, or their family members, mental or physical illness, injury or health conditions; Any reason identified in RCW or to seek protection or safety from events or conduct specific in SMC (B); Any period in which the business or the employee’s child’s school or place of care is closed by order of a public official; Bereavement leave in connection with a family member of the employee.
Employers may allow employees to swap shifts or use Paid Time Off (PTO) for the purposes identified above and the same amounts provided for in the ordinance.
Nothing prohibits employers from requiring a probationary period for covered employees before they can use accrued leave, provided that any such probationary period may be no longer than 90 days.
Employers must post a notice in a place commonly accessible to employees summarizing employees’ and employers’ rights and obligations concerning earned sick and safe leave under this ordinance.
Employers must maintain records of employee’s earned sick and safe leave accrual and use for three years.
Employers must provide information to employees about the amount of earned sick and safe leave an employee has used or has in balance no less frequently than once per quarter and employee request.

48. What to do about it? There is no magic pill for this headache, so
Understand the sick leave requirements of each paid sick leave law in the jurisdictions where you operate. Compare with your current programs and review your options. Some laws allow flexibility in using your existing programs to meet the requirements, with specific provisions.
Consider separate vacation and sick leave programs instead of a combined Paid Time Off or Unlimited Time Off policy to make it easier to ensure compliance with sick-time laws.
Front load balances. Placing the maximum number of hours accruable under any existing law into a worker’s account on January 1st and making it available for use 90 days into employment is permissible in all state-level jurisdictions, and many national employers are using this process as it removes the carryover, accrual and jurisdictional challenges.
Where multiple sick-laws intersect, create multi-jurisdictional policies with a uniform approach to accrual, carryover, leave amount, and incremental use to reduce the burden of individualized policies.
Highest common denominator approach – design a program that provides all employees with the greatest amount of sick time required under the most liberal law applicable to your operations. Take into consideration the cost – you could be providing higher benefit than is required.

49. It’s not just about Payroll . . .
Some of the existing laws require new hire notices, labor law postings and written policies.
New or modified statutes may require communication and training as well as notices and postings.
Consider a cross-functional working team with subject matter experts from different groups such as Human Resources, Payroll, Training, and Legal to review new sick leave laws and address policy and implementation requirements.

50. Multi-State Employer?
A Better Balance maintains an overview of Paid Sick Time Laws in the US, including pending legislation.
sickdays/factsheet/PSDchart.pdf