California Lutheran University full and part-time employees, including student workers, are now eligible for up to two weeks of supplemental paid sick leave for COVID-19 related absences.

On March 19, Gov. Gavin Newsom passed the new supplemental paid sick leave law for COVID-19-related absences, Senate Bill 95, that covers all California employees. 

“Full-time employees are eligible for 80 hours of supplemental sick leave, while part-time employees will receive the total number of hours they are typically scheduled to work in a two-week period,” said Roxanne Robinson-Jones, assistant director of Human Resources at California Lutheran University in an email interview.

These additional hours are intended to cover anything COVID-related, including quarantine, self-isolating, vaccination appointments and seeking medical attention for COVID-19 symptoms. This bill also covers time off for an employee to care for a sick or quarantined family member.

Patricia Parham, assistant vice president for Human Resources, said in an email interview that hours added by Senate Bill 95 only apply to COVID-19 related absences.

“It adds sick leave for those certain instances listed above and only those,” Parham said.

According to existing California law, any employee is eligible for sick pay after 30 days of working, and the same rules apply for these new supplemental hours.

The bill states that an employer is prohibited “from requiring a covered employee to use other paid or unpaid leave, paid time off, or vacation time provided by the employer to the covered employee before that employee uses COVID-19 supplemental paid leave or in lieu thereof, except in certain circumstances in which the employer provides another supplemental benefit for leave for COVID-19, as prescribed.”

For those seeking more information regarding policy at Cal Lutheran specifically, the official employer flyer is available to view.