Legislation requiring all employers, large and small, to provide all employees in California with paid sick leave passed the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee in June. If you want to look up the actual text of the proposal, reference AB 1522 on the Legislature’s web site.

It’s a California Chamber of Commerce-opposed “job killer” bill that will increase the already-high costs of doing business in the state. The bill threatens employers with statutory penalties as well as litigation for alleged violations.

AB 1522 requires that all employers provide any employee who has worked in California for seven days with paid sick leave, at an accrual rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. Any unused sick leave accrued in the preceding year could be carried over to the next year, which is a significant change in existing law.

While many employers voluntarily offer sick leave for full-time employees, expanding this to a mandate on all employees to temporary, seasonal, and part-time employees will create a huge burden on employers.

On July 1, many employers in California already will be facing a significant cost increase due to the $1 increase in minimum wage that will take effect. This $1 increase is in addition to the other cumulative costs employers are already facing, including increased taxes under Proposition 30, increased workers’ compensation rates, loss of federal unemployment insurance credit, increased energy costs, and increased costs associated with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

California employers cannot absorb all of these costs and be forced to provide paid sick leave as well, without cutting other costs, such as labor. Accordingly, AB 1522 will have an impact on jobs as well as future growth.

Two studies of similar paid sick leave laws enacted in other areas have shown that businesses hire fewer people, lay off employees and provide fewer raises in order to comply with these financially burdensome laws.

The information presented is not intended to be, and does not constitute, “legal advice.” Because each situation varies, and only brief summary information is provided here, you should not use this information as a basis for action unless you have independently verified with your own counsel that it applies to your particular situation.

What is given with one hand can be taken away by another. AB1522, also winding its way through the legislative process, would require employers to provide employees with mandatory, protected, paid sick leave, at the rate of one hour accrued for every 30 hours worked (about 8 days per year paid sick leave for full-time employees).

For large companies, who already have a paid sick leave benefit, it may not be a big deal. For small companies with less than 40-50 employees, there is a good probability that it will cause job losses.

A side comment: as is typical with much legislation, the law beings with a recital of background information, allegedly “factual.” In this case, one of those recitals is this: “Providing paid sick days is affordable for employers and good for business.”

Well, there you have it! To all you employers reading this – if you only realized that providing paid sick leave was “affordable” and good for your business, you wouldn’t have to be coerced into offering it. For shame, for shame!