Dear SCU Community,

On March 19, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 95 (SB95) which extends and expands the prior California’s COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (CSPSL). This new legislation provides for COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave for covered employees who are unable to work or telework due to certain reasons related to COVID-19. The information below highlights some of the provisions of the new benefit.

Start and End Date
The new law became effective on March 29, 2021, making the Supplemental Paid Sick Leave benefit available retroactive to January 1, 2021. The benefit will remain in effect through September 30, 2021.

Retroactivity
Since the Supplemental Paid Sick Leave is effective retroactive to January 1, 2021, employees are eligible to use the benefit retroactively for qualifying reasons (see below). Employees who had a qualifying reason during the period of January 1, 2021 - April 15, 2021, and would like to use the Supplemental Paid Sick Leave retroactively can request an adjustment. The adjustment can be applied in cases when regular sick leave or vacation hours were used or when the employee took unpaid leave. The adjustment request needs to be submitted to payroll via the hrservicedesk@scu.edu email address and cc’ the employee’s supervisor. The request should include the dates and hours to be adjusted.  

Amount of Supplemental Paid Sick Leave hours
Benefit eligible employees (FTE equal or greater than .50) will receive 80 hours of Supplemental Paid Sick Leave. Non benefit eligible employees (FTE less than .50) will receive 40 hours (in lieu of  “variable hours”) of Supplemental Paid Sick Leave. 

Qualifying Reasons 
Employees can use the Supplemental Paid Sick Leave for any of the following reasons:

• The employee is subject to a quarantine or isolation period related to COVID-19.
• The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19.
• The employee is attending an appointment to receive a vaccine for protection against COVID-19.
• The employee is experiencing symptoms related to a COVID-19 vaccine that prevents the employee from being able to work or telework.
• The employee is experiencing symptoms related to COVID-19 and seeking medical diagnosis.
• The employee is caring for a family member who is subject to a quarantine or isolation order or has been advised to self-quarantine.
• The employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed or otherwise unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19 on the premises.

Reporting Supplemental Paid Sick Leave in Workday
Hourly employees and exempt staff employees are able to report Supplemental Paid Sick Leave hours in Workday the same way they report other leaves, i.e regular sick leave or vacation, by selecting the COVID-19 CSPSL Sick Time Off option. 

Notice Requirement
The attached notice is being provided pursuant to the notice requirement of SB95.

Questions regarding the CSPSL can be directed to HR via the hrservicedesk@scu.edu email address.

Agustin Ruiz
Department of Human Resources