SACRAMENTO
Workers just got more paid sick days
On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 616 by Senator Lena Gonzales (D-Long Beach) guaranteeing workers at least five paid sick days per year, up from the current three days, while also increasing the accrual and carryover amounts.
Here’s why this is important:
- Working sick costs the national economy $273 billion annually in lost productivity.
- Two days of unpaid sick time is nearly the equivalent of a month’s worth of groceries.
- Offering sick days helps save employers money through improved productivity and morale, as well as reduced presenteeism and turnover.
- Increasing access to paid sick days reduces health care costs, with evidence showing that when workers have paid sick days such costs go down and workers’ health benefits.
“Too many folks are still having to choose between skipping a day’s pay and taking care of themselves or their family members when they get sick,” said Governor Newsom. “We’re making it known that the health and wellbeing of workers and their families is of the utmost importance for California’s future.”
“Women and mothers are the default caregivers of sick family members. As such, they are more likely to be harmed by disrupted or lost wages when they need to take time off work,” said First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. “More paid sick days for ALL California workers will help ease this distinct burden on women, and bolster their economic security.”
“Today marks an exciting moment as our Golden State enacts SB 616, which gives five guaranteed paid sick leave days to California’s workers,” said Senator Lena Gonzalez. “This reinforces our state’s values and commitment to protecting the health and well-being of our workers. As workers and families face illnesses that can disrupt their wages and livelihoods, California has delivered and stepped up to protect and expand paid sick leave, providing a critical safety net to all working Californians. I extend my gratitude to Governor Newsom for signing this bill into law, and to my colleagues in the Legislature, and all the labor supporters, small businesses, and community members who united to advocate for this critical legislation.”
“This is a huge win for workers who have struggled to access adequate paid sick time. We never know what can come up in our lives. A sick child. Emergency surgery. Serious illness. Going from 3 to 5 paid sick days a very important lifeline for working families across the state,” said Ingrid Vilorio, Jack in the Box worker from Castro Valley, CA. “Now, workers will no longer have to worry about how to make the month’s rent or how to keep food on the table while recovering from illness or caring for a loved one. We thank Gov. Newsom for standing up for workers and signing SB 616.”
However, the California Chamber of Commerce, which had the bill on its “job killer” list, warned of the impact on small businesses.
The Chamber, in a statement: “Our concern is that far too many small employers simply cannot absorb this new cost, especially when viewed in context of all of California’s other leaves and paid benefits, and they will have to reduce jobs, cut wages, or raise consumer prices to deal with this mandate.”
—Kamal, CALMatters
CALIFORNIA
How strict on saving water?
This has been a banner year for rain in California: From last Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, the state received 33.56 inches of rain — nearly twice the prior 12 months and nearly three times the amount in the 12 months before that. Three years of severe drought ended this year.
With the “miracle water year” now behind us, however, pressure to conserve water remains a priority for the State Water Resources Control Board, explains CalMatters’ Rachel Becker. But at a board workshop Wednesday, water providers raised concerns about a proposal that would save as much as 413,000 acre-feet a year by 2030 (enough to serve about 1.2 million households per year).
The reason? Water suppliers, not individual customers, would be required to meet the targets — and that could cost them about $13.5 billion from 2025 to 2040. A large chunk of that money (more than 40%) would go to funding rebate programs, such as ones that encourage customers to swap out lawns for more drought-proof landscapes. And if water suppliers don’t stick to their prescribed water allocation, they could be fined $1,000 a day starting in 2027 or $10,000 a day during droughts.
These conservation efforts would affect more than 400 cities and water agencies that serve about 95% of Californians. But each supplier would also need to figure out its own strategy, and it’s unclear to providers how eager customers are to use even less water.
- Joe Berg, director of water use efficiency at the Municipal Water District of Orange County: “They want us to save water at such an accelerated rate, that even if we had all the money, we would not be able to convince our customer base to participate at the rates we need them to. We can build it, but they don’t necessarily come.”
The water board is expected to vote by next summer on the new rules, which could go into effect next fall. Until then, the declining snowpack, the overdrafted Colorado River and projections that the state will lose 10% of its water supply by 2040 due to climate change means that California’s future will likely remain parched.
—Lynn La, CALMatters
