Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed SB 616 to expand paid sick leave for workers from three to five days.
The governor reasoned that more sick days would save employers money by improving productivity and morale. He said that “too many folks are still having to choose between skipping a day's pay and taking care of themselves or their family members when they get sick.”
California Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jennifer Barrera blasted the bill for imposing significant costs that many small businesses cannot absorb. To deal with it, they will have to reduce jobs, cut wages or raise consumer prices, she claimed.
“Continuing to add costs to their price of doing business creates a threat to California’s long-term competitiveness,” said Barrera.
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Amendments had trimmed the proposal down from five extra sick days, after CalChamber pressure. Yet farm groups were also concerned the measure would calculate the wage from a weekly pay average, meaning a farmworker could earn peak harvest pay while out sick.
Ag employers—already grappling with a workforce shortage—have seen entire crews call in sick during major holidays, when more lucrative seasonal work is available, according to some lobbyists, who worried SB 616 would encourage more abuses.
