Los Angeles County, CA: Paid Vaccine Leave, Under Specific Circumstances

An urgency ordinance adopted on May 18, 2021 requires private employers to provide paid vaccine leave under specific circumstances. The ordinance is effective immediately, applies retroactively to January 1, 2021, and remains in effect until August 31, 2021.

1. Eligibility: The ordinance covers all employees performing work in LA County’s unincorporated areas, except for individuals covered by a collective bargaining agreement who agree to wave their rights under the ordinance.
2. Leave Amount:
   1. Full-time employees: up to four hours of vaccine leave per injection.
   2. Part-time employees: a proportionate amount based on their normally scheduled work hours over the two-week period preceding the injection (e.g., 2 hours of vaccine leave for an individual who worked 20 hours per week).
3. Integration with Other Leave Types: Vaccine leave is in addition to any job-protected paid leave employees receive under California’s statewide paid sick leave law. However, vaccine leave is only available if the employee has exhausted all available California supplemental paid sick leave.
4. Documentation: Employers may request employees to provide written verification that they received a COVID-19 vaccine.
5. Notice and Recordkeeping: Employers must conspicuously display a written notice regarding vaccine leave. This notice is to be developed by the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. Records demonstrating compliance with the ordinance must be kept for four years.
6. Anti-Retaliation: Employers may not take adverse action against applicants or other individuals who utilize vaccine leave in good faith.

Action Items