2024 State Paid Leave - HR ALERTS

2024 New & Existing State Paid Leave

In 2024, several new paid leaves are going into effect, as well as updates to existing paid leaves.

States include:

California

For California employees, paid sick leave is being updated effective January 1st, 2024. While previously employees were required to earn at least 24 hours, it has now been increased. Employees must be able to earn at least 40 hours in a year, or 5 days of paid sick leave. Employers can limit the yearly use to 40 hours, but the total accrual cap an employee can reach before no longer accruing additional sick leave is 80 hours of paid sick leave.

Colorado

In Colorado, the paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI) will enter its next phase. In 2023, the payroll deductions that fund this program begin, and now effective January 1st, 2024, employees will be able to apply for up to 16 weeks of FAMLI leave per year. This leave covers a family, medical, qualifying exigency, and safe leaves. Employers are required to post notice about FAMLI at each worksite, as well as to employees upon hire or when they learn the employee might need leave for a covered reason.

Minnesota

Minnesota will have their Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) beginning on January 1st, 2024, for all employees as long as they work at least 80 hours in a year for the employer. Much like other state paid sick leaves, the accrual method for ESST is 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. Employers can cap annual EST accrual to 48 hours, and total accrual at 80 hours. Unused, but accrued ESST must be carried over per year. For those using lump sum plans, ESST doesn’t have to be carried over if the employer does one of the following:

• Frontloads 48 hours of ESST each year and pays out unused ESST at the end of the year

• Frontloads 80 hours of ESST to employees (this does not require payout).
  

For more information regarding ESST, you can visit the state’s webpage here.

Illinois

Illinois has also passed a paid sick leave that will go into effect January 1st, 2024. This applies to all employees unless they are covered in a municipal or country that provides a form of paid sick leave. For accrual plans, the standard rate of accrual is 1 hour for every 40 hours worked. The annual uses can be capped at 40 hours per year, and must be carried over from year to year. For frontloading methods, employees must be frontloaded 40 hours of paid sick leave. It’s important to note that while accrual begins at the start of the year, paid leave cannot be used until March 31st, 2024. There is a current draft of proposed rules for sick leave, and the finalized version of paid sick leave is expected to be published before employees can begin using sick leave, so employers look out for the finalized rules for any changes to the policy. You can view the proposed rules here.

For more information on any of these changes, Vida HR clients should reach out to their HR Business Partner.

  Get day-to-day updates on 2024 State Paid Leave , visit the Vida HR Knowledge Center (Vida HR Clients Exclusive).