City of Los Angeles Requires Vaccine Leave for Employees Working in the City

Tasha PattersonLegislative Updates

City of Los Angeles Requires Vaccine Leave for Employees Working in the City

Ellen E. Cohen

Jackson Lewis P.C.

The state and some local COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave requirements continue through the summer, and the City of Los Angeles’ mayor issued a public order mandating additional paid leave.

Under the order, employees who work within the City of Los Angeles and have been employed by their employer for 60 days are entitled to paid time off to get vaccinated for COVID-19, including traveling to and from the appointment, as well as recovering from the side effects of vaccination, if it prevents the employee from being able to work or telework.

Effective Period

The leave mandate went into effect immediately on Jun. 24th and expires on Sep. 30, 2021. However, certain payment requirements are retroactive to Jan. 1, 2021.

Amount of Leave

The amount of time an employee is entitled to take is dependent on the size of the employer and whether the employee is full-time or part-time.

Size of Employer Full-Time Employee Part-Time Employee
25 or fewer employees
  • 4 hours of COVID-19 Vaccine Leave to obtain each COVID-19 vaccine injection
  • Up to 8 hours of COVID-19 Vaccine Leave to recover from any vaccination-related side effects
  • The prorated amount of 4 hours of COVID-19 Vaccine Leave per injection based on the average number of hours worked in the 60 days preceding the injection
  • Up to the prorated amount of 8 hours of COVID-19 Vaccine Leave to recover from any vaccination-related side effects
More than 25 employees
  • If the employee has exhausted leave under other sick leave allotments such as the city mandated supplemental paid sick leave:
    • 4 hours of additional paid leave per injection
    • Up to 8 hours of additional paid leave for recovery from vaccination-related side effects.
  • If the employee has exhausted leave under other sick leave allotments such as the city mandated supplemental paid sick leave:
    • Up to the prorated amount of 4 hours per injection based on the average number of hours worked in the 60 days preceding the injection
    • Up to the prorated amount of 8 hours for recovery from vaccination-related side effects

 

Rate of Pay

Non-exempt employees entitled to the leave are to be compensated at the highest of the following rates:

  • The normal rate of pay for the workweek in which the leave is taken
  • The City’s minimum wage
  • The average hourly pay for the preceding 60 days, not including overtime

Exempt employees are to be compensated for the leave in the same manner as the employer calculates other forms of paid leave. However, leave required by the order is not to exceed $511 per day (or $255.50 per each 4 hours), or $1,022 in aggregate.

Retroactive Provisions

If an employee took leave to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or to recover from vaccination on or after Jan. 1, 2021, and was not compensated at an amount equal or greater to the rate required by the order, then upon oral or written request of an employee, the employer must provide a retroactive payment.

Retroactive payment will also be due to an employee if the employee had to use leave other than the city-mandated sick leave or city-mandated supplemental paid sick leave, such as vacation time and such leave must be restored to the employee.

***This article originally appeared on the Jackson Lewis’ Disability, Leave & Health Management blog and was reposted on the DMEC website with their permission.***