Employers Get Ready…

There’s a new law coming.  Initiative 1433, which passed in November 2016, has two parts.  The first, an incremental increase in Washington State’s minimum wage over a five-year period, was implemented effective January 1, 2017.  The second part, a paid sick leave requirement, goes into effect on January 1, 2018.  Because this will affect budgeting, employers should start planning now.  

The Washington Department of Labor & Industries has drafted proposed rules for implementation of the new law and is currently accepting comments on the proposals.  The information provided below is based on the current draft of the rules; it is subject to change based on future revisions.
A new draft of the rules was issued on May 22, 2017.  Changes are in italics below. I will continue to track the rules and update this article accordingly.

 

What It Is:  The provisions of Initiative 1433 require that all employees accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked.  It does not matter whether an employee is part- or full-time; instead, any time an employee has worked 40 hours, one hour of paid leave is accrued. 

 

Example:  Shannon is typically scheduled to work 15 hours per week.  Effective January 1, 2018, if/when she hits the 40-hours worked mark during her third workweek, one hour of paid leave must be credited to her paid sick leave account.  

To Whom It Applies: The new law applies to all employers, regardless of size.  

Accrual of Leave:  As of January 1, 2018, if an employee has already been employed for 90 days, s/he will be able to begin using the sick leave no later than one calendar month after it accrues.  Employees hired after January 1, 2018, will begin accruing paid sick leave immediately, but will not be entitled to use accrued paid sick leave until the 90^th calendar day after the employment start date.   While an employer may allow an employee to “borrow” against paid time not yet accrued, an employer is not required to do so.  Employers must allow employees to carry over at least 40 hours of accrued, unused paid sick leave to the following year.  Under this law, employers are not required to pay out any unused leave when an employee’s employment ends.  

Use of Accrued Sick Leave.   For the most part, employees are entitled to use paid sick leave for his/her own or a family member’s illness, injury or health condition or for absences that qualify under Washington’s Domestic Violence Leave Act.  Family member is defined as: a child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild or sibling.  Employers must allow employees to use sick leave in one-hour increments, unless an employer tracks compensation for employees in increments of less than one hour.  In that case, the employer must allow employees to use paid sick leave in increments equal to the way in which compensation is tracked.  For example, if an employer’s payroll system tracks time worked in increments of 15 minutes, employees must be allowed to use paid sick leave in increments of 15 minutes.  If an employer can establish that compliance with the requirements for increments of use are infeasible, and that granting a variance does not have a significant harmful effect on the health, safety, and welfare of the employees involved, it may seek a variance from the director of the department of labor and industries.

An employer may require employees to give reasonable notice of an absence from work requiring the use of paid sick leave.  If the need for the leave is foreseeable, the employer can require up to (but no more than) fourteen calendar days’ notice.  If the need is not foreseeable, the employer can require the employee to give notice as soon as possible before the scheduled start of his or her shift, unless it is not practicable to do so.  If an employer requires reasonable notice it must have a written policy describing the requirements. 

Notification:  By March 1, 2018, employers must notify existing employees of their entitlement to paid sick leave, the rate at which it will accrue, authorized purposes for which it may be used, and that retaliation for use of such leave is prohibited.  Employees hired after January 1, 2018, must be notified of these items by the date on which employment begins.  At least monthly, employers must provide each employee with a notification of how much time s/he has accrued, any reductions that have been made since the last notification, and any amount available for use by the employee.  

There are many more details concerning the implementation of this law.  Employers who have not provided paid sick leave in the past will need to consider how best to implement the new law and ensure that a process is in place for tracking accrual and use of the leave.  Written policies need to be developed and provided to employees.  If you have further questions about anything in this article, please contact Anne Wilson at AWilson@bgwp.net.