Do Part-Time Employees Get Sick Pay in California?

Part-time employees in California get paid sick pay on the same terms as full-time employees. Under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act, expanded by Senate Bill 616 effective January 1, 2024, you can earn and use up to 40 hours or five days of paid sick leave per year, whichever is greater, regardless of how many hours a week you work.

Who Qualifies

The bar is low. You qualify if you work for the same employer for at least 30 days within a year of starting the job. Part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers all count. Accrual starts on day one, but you cannot actually use any sick hours until your 90th day of employment.¹

A few narrow categories fall outside the law: employees covered by a qualifying collective bargaining agreement that already provides paid sick leave, premium overtime, and a wage floor 30 percent above minimum wage; certain construction workers under a qualifying CBA; and railroad employees, whose sick leave rules are governed by federal law.² If you don’t fit one of those, you’re covered.

How Much You Earn

California lets employers choose between two systems.

Accrual

Under the standard method, you earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. A part-timer averaging 20 hours a week accrues about one hour every week and a half. Your employer can cap your total banked hours at 80 hours or ten days, but unused hours carry over year to year up to that cap.¹

Front-Loading

Instead of tracking accrual, an employer can grant the full amount at the start of each benefit year. Under this method, you must receive at least 40 hours or five days, whichever is greater.¹ No carryover is required when the full amount is front-loaded.

The “whichever is greater” language matters for longer shifts. If you regularly work ten-hour days, five days equals 50 hours, and your employer owes you the higher figure. For an eight-hour day, five days and 40 hours are the same.

Annual Usage Cap

Whichever method your employer uses, they can cap the amount you actually take in a single year at 40 hours or five days.¹ Under accrual, you might bank more than 40 hours over time through carryover, but the annual usage cap still applies.

What You Get Paid Per Sick Hour

You get your regular, non-overtime hourly rate for each hour of sick leave you take. If you earn $18 an hour and use three hours for a medical appointment, you receive $54.³

If your pay varies week to week, the employer can calculate the rate one of two ways: use your regular non-overtime rate for the workweek in which you took the leave, or divide total wages (excluding overtime premiums) by total hours worked over the previous 90 days.³ The 90-day method tends to smooth out fluctuations when hours or rates change.

What You Can Use It For

Paid sick leave covers your own health needs and the care of a family member, including diagnosis, treatment, care for an existing condition, and preventive care like check-ups, vaccinations, or dental visits.

California defines family member broadly:

Your child — biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, legal ward, or a child you stand in the role of a parent to
Your parent — biological, adoptive, foster, stepparent, or legal guardian of you or your spouse or domestic partner
Your spouse or registered domestic partner
Your grandparent, grandchild, or sibling

Sick leave also covers time off if you or a family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including time to seek medical attention, counseling, or legal help.

Asking for Sick Leave

Give reasonable advance notice for foreseeable leave, like a scheduled appointment. For unexpected illness, notify your employer as soon as you reasonably can. The request can be verbal or written unless your employer has a clear written policy requiring written notice.⁴

Can your employer require a doctor’s note? Generally, no. An employer cannot deny paid sick leave just because you didn’t provide medical certification. Documentation may be reasonable in limited circumstances where the employer has specific information suggesting the leave isn’t for a qualifying purpose.³

Two other rules matter. Your employer cannot require you to find a replacement to cover your shift as a condition of taking sick leave.⁴ And you decide how much time to use. If a two-hour appointment is all you need, your employer cannot force you to take a full day, though they can set a minimum increment of up to two hours per use.³

When You Leave the Job

California does not require employers to pay out unused sick leave when you leave, whether you resign, are terminated, or retire. This differs from vacation pay, which employers must pay out at separation. Your banked sick hours expire when the job ends.

One important exception: if the same employer rehires you within one year, your previously accrued and unused sick leave must be restored.¹ That matters for seasonal and on-call part-timers who cycle in and out of the same employer.

Retaliation Protections

Your employer cannot fire you, cut your hours, demote you, threaten you, or discriminate against you for using or trying to use sick leave, for filing a complaint about sick leave violations, or for cooperating with an investigation.⁴

The law creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if an employer takes adverse action against you within 30 days of your sick leave use or complaint. If your employer disciplines or fires you shortly after you took a sick day, the burden shifts to the employer to prove the action was unrelated.⁴

If your employer unlawfully withholds sick leave, the penalty is three times the dollar value of the withheld pay or $250, whichever is greater, up to $4,000. If the violation causes other harm, like a firing, an additional $50 per day the violation continued applies, also capped at $4,000.⁵

To file a wage claim or retaliation complaint, contact the California Labor Commissioner’s Office at 833-LCO-INFO (833-526-4636).⁶

When Your City or Employer Gives You More

State law sets the floor, not the ceiling. Several California cities require more generous sick leave, and if the local rule is better, your employer has to follow it.

San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Santa Monica, and Emeryville all require employers above a certain size (the threshold varies by city) to allow up to 72 hours of paid sick leave per year.⁷ Los Angeles requires 48 hours across all employers. San Diego requires 40 hours, which now matches the state minimum after SB 616. If you work in one of these cities, check with the local labor enforcement office for the specifics.

Federal contractor employees get more too. Executive Order 13706 requires federal contractors to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 56 hours per year — higher than California’s 40-hour minimum.⁸

1
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 246
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California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 245.5
3
California Department of Industrial Relations. California Paid Sick Leave Frequently Asked Questions
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California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 246.5
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California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 248.5
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California Department of Industrial Relations. Report Labor Law Violations and File Claims
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City and County of San Francisco. Paid Sick Leave Ordinance
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eCFR. 29 CFR 13.5 – Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors