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the existing plans must allow employees
“The TruckiNg iNdusTry does To a large exTeNT to accrue at least eight hours or one
day of sick leave or PTO within three
provide paid sick leave, BuT The proBlem wiTh months of the beginning of each year of
This paTchwork of differeNT requiremeNTs is employment, and 24 hours/three days
ThaT iT makes coNducTiNg efficieNT operaTioNs at the nine-month mark. If an employer
more difficulT.” changes its pre-existing plan, it must
comply with the accrual requirements
of the law.
—prasad sharma, seNior vice presideNT aNd geNeral Companies also have the option
couNsel, americaN TruckiNg associaTioNs of “frontloading” sick leave time so
that they don’t have to track individual
employees’ accrual. Under that scenario,
the company would give employees no
California Labor Commissioner has according to the ATA’s 2014 Driver less than three days or 24 hours of sick
indicated that the 30-day requirement Compensation Study. And of those, 56 time at the beginning of each 12-month
should be interpreted as 30 calendar percent offer separate sick and vacation period. This period can be based on the
days — including days not actually spent days. The other 44 percent offer paid employee’s hiring date, a calendar year,
working. time off only — PTO — an average of or any other 12-month period defined
“It’s very conceivable that the eight days a year. All less-than-truckload by the company. Because the year’s sick
law could capture a number of drivers carriers offered some paid leave as well, time is automatically granted at the
who are making interstate deliveries split about evenly between PTO plans beginning of the year, no unused sick
that are going into, through or out of and separate sick and vacation days. time from the previous year needs to be
California,” said Prasad Sharma, senior But even if a company has an exist- rolled over. This approach is simpler in
vice president and general counsel of ing paid time off or sick leave plan, it terms of accounting, but doesn’t require
the American Trucking Associations. may not satisfy the requirements of employees to “earn” their sick time with
Many companies based outside of the California law. Plans need to meet work hours.
California ship in and out of the state’s not only the 24-hour/3-day minimum The Healthy Workplace, Healthy
ports, and some have multiple termi- for provided leave, but also the accrual Families Act also applies to all classes of
nals in the state with dedicated driv- provisions. The original law specified a employees — exempt and non-exempt,
ers who almost never leave California, rate of 1 hour per 30 hours worked and full-time, part-time, temporary and sea-
Jones said. Those companies should required that PTO must be accrued and sonal workers all qualify for sick leave,
know who they are, he said, but many measured on a per-hour basis rather not just full-time employees. There are
of them didn’t do anything to prepare than per pay period. A clean-up bill very few exemptions built into the law,
for the law. passed in mid-July, however, relaxed Jones said. One of the few is employees
“If you have operations in that requirement. Employers may now who are covered by a collective bargain-
California, you need to make sure use any accrual method they choose, as ing agreement.
that employees are covered and treated long as employees have at least 24 hours Additionally, PTO plans can’t
according to the law,” Jones said. or three days of accrued sick leave or place limits on taking PTO that aren’t
Under the terms of the law, PTO by the 120th day of employment, allowed by the California law. For
employees who qualify must accrue each calendar year, or each 12-month instance, the act specifies that employ-
one hour of paid sick leave for every period. ees can take sick leave not only for their
30 hours worked. Employers can also At a rate of 1 hour per 30 hours own health issues, but to care for a
choose to provide the annual amount in worked, a full-time employee would spouse, domestic partner, parent, sib-
advance. Regardless of how much paid earn about 69 hours of sick leave each ling, grandparent, grandchild or child
sick time an employee accrues, though, year, but companies are allowed to limit of any age. Preventive care is included.
the employer can limit the amount of the accrued amount to 48 hours or six The employee must provide oral or writ-
time the employee can take to 24 hours days, and limit the amount an employee ten notice of the need to use sick leave
or three days per year. Employees can can use in a year to 24 hours or three “as soon as practicable,” according the
carry over no more than 48 hours or six days. provisions of the law, but the California
days of leave time from one year to the The amended law also included a Labor Commissioner has taken the
next. safe-harbor provision for some sick- position that employees are not required
Nationwide, 92 percent of truck- leave and PTO plans that companies to show proof of a qualifying need.
load carriers already offer paid leave, had in place before Jan. 1. To qualify,

26 arkansas Trucking repOrT | issue 4 2015