COVID Pay is Back

The 2022 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL) is now law and in effect from 1/1 through 9/30/2022. The 2022 version is different than what we had last year so pay close attention to the differences summarized below:

• Eligibility: A California employee is eligible if they have worked for you for at least 30 days and your company has 26 or more employees (anywhere). Full-time employees must have worked the 2 weeks prior to the time off.


• Pay Stubs: You must have a separate line item on pay stubs (wage statements) that shows how much SPSL they have used in 2022.


• Week 1: The first week (up to 40 hours) is paid if they qualify based on their need to quarantine due to symptoms, doctor’s orders, or caring for a family member who has symptoms. They also qualify if they are caring for a child whose school or daycare is unavailable.


• Week 2: A positive test on Day 5 is required for an employee to be eligible for any pay beyond Week 1. The test can be for either the family member the employee is are caring for or for the employee. No test results, no pay.


• Using Sick Leave: You must provide SPSL before touching the employee’s available sick leave or other paid time off.


• Reimbursements: There are no tax breaks or reimbursements for the company.

You only have one full pay period available to get this set up and then you’ll need to start paying it. Since this law is retroactive to January 1st, review your payroll to confirm who might be eligible for a refund of their sick time and change it to SPSL. The one thing that hasn’t changed is having the employee complete a certification form to request the pay and ensure they are eligible.