Do Part-Time Employees Get Sick Pay in California?

Yes. Part-time employee sick pay in California works the same way it does for full-time workers: if you’ve been with the same employer for at least 30 days, you earn paid sick leave, and you can use up to 40 hours (or five days) of it per year once you hit your 90th day on the job. The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act covers nearly every worker in the state, and Senate Bill 616 raised the usage floor to 40 hours effective January 1, 2024.

Do You Qualify as a Part-Time Worker

The eligibility bar is low. You qualify if you work for the same employer for at least 30 days within a year from your start date. Part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers all count. You start accruing on day one, but you cannot actually use sick leave until your 90th day of employment.¹

A few workers fall outside the law. Employees under a qualifying collective bargaining agreement that already provides paid sick leave, premium overtime, and a regular hourly rate at least 30 percent above minimum wage are exempt, as are construction workers under a similar qualifying CBA.² Railroad employees are exempt because federal law preempts the state rule for that industry.³ If you aren’t in one of those narrow categories, you’re covered.

How Much Sick Leave You Earn

California lets employers deliver the leave two ways. Which one your employer uses changes how your hours build up but not the bottom-line amount you can take.

The Accrual Method

Under the standard approach, you earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours you work. A part-time employee averaging 20 hours a week picks up roughly one hour of sick leave every week and a half. Your employer can cap your total banked hours at 80 hours (or ten days), and unused hours carry over from year to year up to that cap.¹

The Front-Load Method

Instead of tracking accrual, an employer can grant the full amount of sick leave at the start of each benefit year. If your employer uses this method, you must receive at least 40 hours or five days, whichever is greater, at the beginning of the period.¹ When the employer front-loads the full amount, no carryover is required.

The “whichever is greater” wording matters if you work longer shifts. If you regularly work ten-hour days, five days equals 50 hours, so your employer would owe you the higher figure. For a standard eight-hour schedule, five days and 40 hours are the same.

The Annual Usage Cap

No matter which method your employer uses, they can cap how much sick leave you actually take in a given year at 40 hours or five days.¹ You might bank more than 40 hours over time through carryover under the accrual method, but your yearly use can still be limited to 40.

What You Get Paid for Each Sick Hour

You get paid your regular, non-overtime hourly rate for each hour of sick leave you use. If you normally earn $18 an hour and take three hours off for a medical appointment, you receive $54.⁴

If your pay varies from week to week, the employer can calculate the rate 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.⁴ The 90-day calculation smooths out swings for workers whose hours or rates change often.

What You Can Use Sick Leave For

You can use paid sick leave for your own health needs or to care for a family member. Covered reasons include diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for a condition, plus preventive care like check-ups, vaccinations, and dental visits.

California defines “family member” broadly. You can use sick leave to care for a:

Child, including biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, legal ward, or a child you stand in the role of a parent to
Parent, including biological, adoptive, foster, stepparent, or legal guardian of you or your spouse or domestic partner
Spouse or registered domestic partner
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 get medical attention, counseling, or legal help.

Requesting Time Off

If you know in advance that you’ll need sick leave, give your employer reasonable advance notice. For unexpected illness, let them know as soon as you reasonably can. The request can be verbal or written, unless your employer has a clear written policy requiring written notice.⁵

Can your employer demand a doctor’s note? Generally, no. An employer cannot deny you paid sick leave simply because you didn’t provide medical certification. In narrow situations where the employer has specific information suggesting the leave isn’t being used for a qualifying purpose, asking for documentation may be reasonable.⁴

Two other rules you should know. Your employer cannot require you to find a replacement to cover your shift as a condition of using sick leave.⁵ And you decide how much time to use. If you only need two hours for an appointment, your employer cannot force you to take a full day, though they can set a minimum increment of up to two hours per use.⁴

What Happens 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 is different from vacation pay, which must be paid out at separation. Banked sick hours expire with the employment relationship.

One exception matters for part-time, seasonal, and on-call workers: if the same employer rehires you within one year, your previously accrued and unused sick leave must be reinstated.¹

Retaliation Protections and How to Complain

California law prohibits employers from retaliating against you for using or trying to use sick leave. Your employer cannot fire you, cut your hours, demote you, threaten you, or discriminate against you for taking sick days, filing a complaint, or cooperating with an investigation.⁵

The law creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if an employer takes adverse action against you within 30 days of your using sick leave or filing a complaint. In plain English: if you get fired or disciplined shortly after a sick day, the burden shifts to your employer to prove the action was unrelated.⁵

If an employer unlawfully withholds sick leave, the penalty is three times the dollar value of the withheld sick pay or $250, whichever is greater, capped at $4,000. If the violation causes other harm, like a firing, an additional $50 per day the violation continued applies, also capped at $4,000.⁶

You can file a wage claim or retaliation complaint with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office. The hotline is 833-LCO-INFO (833-526-4636).⁷

Cities That Require More

State law sets the floor, not the ceiling. Several cities require more generous sick leave than the state minimum. San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Santa Monica, and Emeryville all allow employees at larger employers to earn up to 72 hours per year, with the exact size threshold varying by city.⁸ Los Angeles requires 48 hours for all employers. San Diego requires 40, now matching the state after SB 616.

When a local ordinance is more generous than state law, your employer has to follow the local rule. If you work in one of these cities, check with the city’s labor enforcement office for the specifics that apply to your workplace.

1
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 246
2
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 245.5
3
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. Su
4
California Department of Industrial Relations. California Paid Sick Leave Frequently Asked Questions
5
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
8
City and County of San Francisco. Paid Sick Leave Ordinance