SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KERO) — California lawmakers said Tuesday they are looking to extend COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave through Sept. 30th, 2022, to protect workers during the current omicron variant surge.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon announced they have agreed on the framework of the extension.
“California’s ability to take early budget action will protect workers and provide real relief to businesses reeling from this latest surge. Throughout this pandemic, we have come together to address the immediate impacts COVID-19 continues to have on millions of California families, both at home and at work. By extending sick leave to frontline workers with COVID and providing support for California businesses, we can help protect the health of our workforce, while also ensuring that businesses and our economy are able to thrive. We will continue to work to address additional needs of small businesses through the budget. They are the backbone of our communities and continue to be impacted by COVID-19.”
The plan would allow workers at businesses with 26 or more employees to get 40 hours of paid sick leave for COVID-19. Workers won't be able to use the paid sick leave to get the vaccine or recover from vaccine side effects. Workers would get 24 hours of leave in those instances.
Among the other early budget actions are restoring business tax credits, tax relief for recipients of federal relief grants for restaurants and shuttered venues, and additional funding for the Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program.
