Highlights of the HWA include:
· Earned sick leave (ESL) may be used as it accrues.
· Unused leave must carry over into the new year.
· When an employee separates employment, the leave is non-cashable. However, if they return within a year, they are entitled to the number of hours they accrued when they left.
· If an employee accrues greater than 64 hours, the employer may still limit them to a maximum of 64 hours used per year.
· Employees may start using ESL as it accrues.
· The employee must make a reasonable effort to give advance notice so the leave doesn’t unduly disrupt the employer. If the leave is unforeseeable, employees must tell the employer as soon as possible.
· Qualifying reasons to use ESL are broad. They include preventative medical care, or mental and physical injury or health condition for themselves or their family members.
· Covered family members include an employee’s spouse or domestic partner, other traditional family members like children, grandchildren, grandparents, parents, and siblings or the employee’s spouse or domestic partner, along with an individual whose close association with the employee or the employee's spouse or domestic partner is the equivalent of a family relationship (i.e., guardian.) A domestic partner doesn’t need to be “registered”; it is an individual with whom the employee maintains a household and a mutual committed relationship without a legally recognized marriage.
· ESL also covers issues associated with domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking suffered by the employee or a family member of the employee" so long as the leave is required for the employee to receive medical or psychological treatment; relocate; prepare for or participate in legal proceedings; or assist a family member suffering this abuse.
Be prepared to communicate this update with your employees before July 1 and with new employees. Also, document accrual of and use of this leave.
