Beginning February 5, 2007, the San Francisco Administrative Code will be amended to include a new paid sick leave provision (“Chapter 12W”).
Under Chapter 12W, a company must permit covered employees to use all of their accrued sick leave for “kincare” purposes. Under Chapter 12W, paid sick leave may be used to care for a child, parent, legal guardian or ward, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, spouse, or domestic partner who is registered as such under any state or local law. The Chapter 12W kincare leave entitlements extend to relationships resulting from adoption, step-relationships, and foster care relationships with respect to sibling and grandparent relationships, and child and parent relationships.
If the employee has no spouse or registered domestic partner, the employee may “designate” one person as to whom the employee may use paid sick leave to aid or care for the person. The employer must offer the employee the opportunity to designate such a person no later than the date the employee works 30 hours after accrual begins, and then annually afterwards.
If a company has an existing sick leave policy or personal time off policy that makes available at least the minimal amount of leave set forth in Chapter 12W to all covered employees, then the employer does not have to provide additional paid sick leave. The Company would still need to revise its policies consistent with the kincare and other requirements under Chapter 12W.
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