San Francisco Adopts Public Health Emergency Leave Ordinance

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San Francisco voters passed Proposition G, a public health emergency leave ordinance (PHELO) that takes effect Oct. 1, 2022. A copy of the proposition is found here.

Leave is available only during a public health emergency as defined by law. Such emergency can be declared by the federal or state government, or declared locally by the city of San Francisco.

Effective Oct. 1, 2022, businesses with 100 or more employees worldwide must provide as many as 80 hours of paid public health emergency leave to each employee who performs work in San Francisco. There's no minimum length of time the employee must work in order to be eligible for the leave, and it's available to both part-time and temporary employees. The paid leave is in addition to any other paid time off, including paid sick leave under the San Francisco paid sick leave ordinance. Employers are required to post notice of the new law. The poster is here.

Employees may use this leave when they are unable to work (or telework) when:

1. There are recommendations or requirements by an individual or general federal, state, or local health order (including an order issued by the local jurisdiction in which the worker or a family member he/she is caring for resides) related to the public health emergency.
2. The employee, or a family member he/she is caring for, has been advised by a health-care provider to isolate or quarantine.
3. The employee, or a family member he/she is caring for, is experiencing symptoms of and is seeking a medical diagnosis for, or has received a positive medical diagnosis of, a possible infectious, contagious, or communicable disease associated with a public health emergency.
4. The employee is caring for a family member whose school or place of care has been closed, or the care provider of a family member is unavailable, due to the public health emergency.
5. There's an air quality emergency, and the employee is a member of a vulnerable population and primarily works outdoors.

The leave is available only during the public health emergency. Employers are not required to payout any unused leave. Employers of health-care providers and emergency responders may limit this leave in accordance with the ordinance.

An employer may require a doctor’s note or other documentation to confirm an employee’s status as a member of a vulnerable population if the worker uses public health emergency leave for a use inapplicable to an employee who is not a member of the vulnerable population. Employees who assert their right to receive public health emergency leave are protected from retaliation.

The city and county of San Francisco Department of Public Health has declared two public health emergencies. The first is COVID-19, which was declared a public health emergency March 6, 2020. The second is the monkeypox virus that was declared a public health emergency Aug. 1, 2022. So eligible employees may use a maximum 80 hours for qualifying absences related to the COVID-19 public health emergency and the monkeypox public health emergency as declared in San Francisco.

The declarations of public health emergencies are here and here.

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