California paid sick leave: 4 numbers for part-time techs

• put each tech's usual shift length beside their name before any sick time is approved.
• work out each tech's minimum sick hours from the state floor that starts on January 1, 2024, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.
• count days worked for the same employer within a year, since the state page ties coverage to at least 30 days, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.
• check the leave amount your company gave before the new floor, because the notice rule depends on that amount, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.

Coverage reaches beyond full-time staff.

Because the state page describes some narrow exceptions, a worker should not be left out of the count until those exceptions have been read on the same page. A shop that skips this step may treat a covered tech as uncovered, or the reverse, so the exceptions belong on the review list before any leave request is decided.

For a field-service shop, the 30-day test is a count of days worked, not a job title. A dated record of each tech's days worked for your company gives that count a clear source, and the running total is easier to check than a memory of how many days someone worked.

Their days should be logged the same way as the days of full-time staff, so the record shows the same kind of total for every person on the board.

The title counts four numbers: the five-day or 40-hour minimum, the 50 hours for a tech on 10-hour days, the 10 hours left after five 6-hour days, and the 30 days needed for coverage. The California page supplies all four, and the table below gives one sentence from each publisher used in this article. The 30-day figure is a coverage test rather than an hours figure, so it belongs on a different line of the tech's record than the other three.

Each cell in the table is taken from the sentence named in its row, so the table shows what each source says and nothing more. The Oregon sentence describes a regular hourly rate, and that rate comes from dividing weekly salary by 40, according to Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. That is a rule from a different state, so it should not be used as the way to calculate California sick pay. Keeping the state figures in one part of the tech file and the scheduling sentences in another keeps each number tied to the source that states it.

The state wording measures the floor in both days and hours. A shop that tracks only hours, or only days, can misread a tech whose shift length differs from the rest of the board.

The usual shift length multiplied by five gives the five-day figure in hours, and that figure is compared with 40 hours. According to California Department of Industrial Relations, the employer must allow the larger of the two figures.

The comparison changes the answer for shorter shifts. For a tech on 6-hour days, five days comes to 30 hours, which is less than 40, so the 40-hour figure is the larger one and the state rule points to 40 hours. The same comparison for a tech on 10-hour days gives 50 hours, which is more than 40.

Both results should sit on the tech's record: the five-day figure in hours and the 40-hour figure. Keeping both values visible makes it clear which one governs the request in front of you.

A tech whose usual shift falls between the two examples in the next section can be checked the same way. Multiply the usual shift length by five, compare the result with 40 hours, and record the larger figure as the minimum.

The figures in this article are California figures. They should not be carried into another state's schedule, and they should not be treated as the rule for every employer.

The state page also gives a 6-hour example. An employee who works only 6 hours a day and takes five days of paid sick leave, for a total of 30 hours, will still have 10 hours remaining, according to California Department of Industrial Relations. The 30 hours taken, set against the 40-hour floor, leave the 10 hours the state page names.

The 10-hour and 6-hour cases show that the same five days produce different hour totals for different shifts. A dispatcher who plans with a single hour count for the whole crew can be wrong for at least one of the techs on the board.

On the board, the remaining hours are best shown beside the tech's name after each approved day. A written note of the remaining hours makes the balance visible without a separate calculation for every request.

When a tech's shift length changes, the minimum should be worked out again before the next day off is approved. Techs who move between longer and shorter schedules need that recalculation more often than techs who keep the same shift.

Suppose a tech works 9-hour shifts. Five days at 9 hours each comes to 45 hours. Because 45 is more than 40, the larger figure governs, so 45 hours is the minimum to record for this tech. Setting that figure beside the tech's name gives the dispatcher one number to check before a day off is approved. The 40-hour figure would apply only to a shift short enough that five days come to 40 hours or less.

Before January 1, 2024, an employer could limit an employee's use to 24 hours or three days during a year, according to California Department of Industrial Relations. That older limit is a different number from the floor that now applies.

A policy that still shows the older limit does not match the floor that starts on January 1, 2024. The policy should be rewritten before the next leave request is approved, so that the request is checked against the current figures.

The state page also covers local rules. As of January 1, 2024, local ordinances cannot contradict the state paid sick leave law requirements regarding the lending of paid sick leave, paystub statements, calculation of paid sick leave, providing notice if the leave is foreseeable, timing of payment of paid sick leave, and whether payment of sick leave is required upon termination, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.

Where a city or county has its own sick leave terms, flag any term that conflicts with that list before it is used in a schedule or a pay record.

The change date should appear on the policy document, so the older limit is marked as the rule that applied before 2024. A reader who finds the old limit in a file can then see that it is out of date.

The leave balance and the dispatch board are separate records. The leave balance belongs on the tech's file, and the visits belong on the board. Both should be checked before a visit is moved.

Arrival times are covered by a different Microsoft sentence. According to Microsoft Learn, by improving efficiency, the add-in drives more predictable arrival and completion times.

Each approved day of paid sick leave should be followed by an updated note of remaining hours beside the tech's name. That note is the working figure for the next move, and it should be updated on the same day as the approval.

Decide in advance which jobs move to a tech whose remaining hours are low, and write that rule down. A written rule means the choice does not depend on who is answering the phone that day. For related rules on moving a visit, see Move a booked visit: 3 rules and 6 fields. For a related guide, see Dispatch board setup: 7 checks before go-live.

The leave amount your company provided before the new floor belongs in the tech's file, with the date it was provided. Without that date, the file cannot show which period the amount came from.

Days-worked counts from the coverage section belong in the same file, dated by month. A monthly date makes it easier to check each tech's status across the year.

The state examples are built on shift length, according to California Department of Industrial Relations, which gives the 10-hour and 6-hour cases. A written list of each tech's usual shift length should therefore sit with the leave records. For a related guide, see Check 4 leave counts before you approve time off.

Keep a dated copy of each notice given to employees, so the file shows which version each person received. When a notice is replaced, mark the old copy with the date it was replaced, so that older terms are not mistaken for the current floor.

The next step today is to list each tech's usual shift length and work out their minimum sick hours.

How many sick leave hours must a California employer allow?

An employer must allow at least five days or 40 hours, whichever is more, starting January 1, 2024, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.

How many hours does a tech on 10-hour days get?

A tech on 10-hour days is entitled to at least 50 hours of paid sick leave, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.

Do part-time and temporary techs count?

Yes, when they have worked at least 30 days for the same employer within a year, with some narrow exceptions, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.

Who must get a new notice copy?

Employers that previously provided less than five days or 40 hours of paid sick leave per year need to give employees a new copy of the notice, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.