San Francisco's New Paid Leave Law

This recent post from employer-side lawyers Kauff, MacLain & McGuire LLP discusses San Francisco’s new sick leave ordinance, which becomes effective February 1, 2007.  While the post has an error in it (it states “unlike paid time off or vacation time, an employer is not required to pay out accrued sick leave to a terminating employee” – this is backwards) it nonetheless points out a potential litigation headache for the unexpecting employer who wasn’t watching when San Francisco voters passed Proposition F:

“An aggrieved employee can either bring a civil action or rely on San Francisco’s Labor Standards Enforcement Office to bring an action. If a violation is found, the employer can be forced to reinstate the employee with back pay, pay administrative penalties which may include $50 for each hour of sick leave unlawfully withheld, and/or pay a dollar amount of sick leave withheld multiplied by three or $250, whichever is greater. The employer also could be responsible for attorneys’ fees and costs.”