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PRINTER'S NO. 1632
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
1109
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY FARNESE, MUTH, SCHWANK, A. WILLIAMS, FONTANA,
KEARNEY, TARTAGLIONE, COSTA, COLLETT, LEACH, BOSCOLA, STREET,
HUGHES, BREWSTER, L. WILLIAMS AND DINNIMAN, APRIL 13, 2020
REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, APRIL 13, 2020
AN ACT
Establishing public health emergency leave.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Preliminary Provisions
Section 101. Short title.
Section 102. Definitions.
Chapter 3. Emergency Leave
Section 301. Establishment of public health emergency leave.
Section 302. Notice.
Section 303. Ongoing threat.
Section 304. Use of public health emergency leave.
Section 305. Additional leave.
Section 306. Subrogation.
Section 308. Overtime.
Section 309. Termination.
Chapter 5. Enforcement
Section 501. Duties of department.
Section 502. Enforcement.
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Section 503. Exercise of rights protected and retaliation
prohibited.
Section 504. Notice and posting.
Chapter 7. Administration
Section 701. Employer records.
Section 702. Confidentiality and nondisclosure.
Section 703. No effect on more generous policies or laws.
Section 704. Other legal requirements.
Section 705. Public education and outreach.
Section 706. Severability.
Section 707. Effective date.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
CHAPTER 1
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
Section 101. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Public Health
Emergency Leave Act.
Section 102. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Department." The Department of Labor and Industry of the
Commonwealth.
"Employee." An individual who is employed by an employer
doing business in this Commonwealth.
"Employer." As defined in the act of January 17, 1968
(P.L.11, No.5), known as The Minimum Wage Act of 1968.
"Family member." Any of the following:
(1) A biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild or
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legal ward, a child of a domestic partner or a child to whom
the employee stands in loco parentis, regardless of age.
(2) A biological, foster, stepparent or adoptive parent
or legal guardian of an employee or an employee's spouse or
domestic partner or a person who stood in loco parentis when
the employee or the employee's spouse or domestic partner was
a minor child.
(3) A person to whom the employee is legally married
under the laws of any state or a domestic partner of an
employee as registered under the laws of any state or
political subdivision.
(4) A grandparent, grandchild or sibling, whether of a
biological, foster, adoptive or step relationship, of the
employee or the employee's spouse or domestic partner.
(5) A person for whom the employee is responsible for
providing or arranging care, including helping that
individual obtain diagnostic, preventive, routine or
therapeutic health treatment.
(6) Any other individual related by blood or whose close
association with the employee is the equivalent of a family
relationship.
"Health care professional." A health care center or person,
including a corporation, university or other educational
institution licensed or approved by the Commonwealth to provide
health care or professional medical services as a physician,
certified nurse midwife, podiatrist, hospital, nursing home or
birth center or any other person licensed under Federal or State
law to provide medical or emergency services.
"Paid sick time." Time that is compensated at the same
hourly rate and with the same benefits, including health care
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benefits, as the employee normally earns during hours worked and
is provided by an employer to an employee for the purposes of
section 301, but in no case shall this hourly amount be less
than the hourly amount under The Minimum Wage Act of 1968.
"Public health emergency." A threat to public health or
sufficient threat to be the subject of an emergency or disaster
declaration made by a Federal, State or local official with the
authority to declare the emergency.
"Public health emergency leave." Paid sick leave which must
be provided by an employer to an employee affected by a public
health emergency.
"Retaliatory personnel action." Denial of a right guaranteed
under this act or any actual or threatened discharge,
suspension, demotion, reduction of hours, reporting an
employee's suspected citizenship or immigration status, or the
suspected citizenship or immigration status of a family member
of the employee to a Federal, State or local department, or any
other adverse action against an employee for the exercise of any
right guaranteed herein, including any sanctions against an
employee who is the recipient of public benefits for rights
guaranteed under this act. Retaliation includes interference
with or punishment for in any manner participating in or
assisting an investigation, proceeding or hearing under this
act.
CHAPTER 3
EMERGENCY LEAVE
Section 301. Establishment of public health emergency leave.
(a) Requirement.--Each employer of the Commonwealth shall
provide paid sick time to employees whose residence or
employment is affected by a public health emergency. An employer
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shall provide the paid sick time in addition to any other leave
benefits available to employees by contract or policy. Public
health emergency leave shall be made available in accordance
with the following:
(1) An employee who normally works 40 or more hours in a
week shall be provided at least 112 hours of paid sick time.
(2) An employee who works fewer than 40 hours in a week
shall be provided an amount of paid sick time equal to the
amount of time the employee is otherwise scheduled to work or
works on average in a 14-day period.
(b) Immediate provisions.--The public health emergency leave
required in subsection (a) shall be provided to employees
immediately for the use of employees under section 304,
regardless of how long the employee has been employed.
(c) Usage.--An employee may use public health emergency
leave from the first date of the emergency or disaster
declaration until two weeks following the termination of the
declaration.
Section 302. Notice.
Immediately after a declaration of a public health emergency
within the Commonwealth, an employer shall provide notice to all
employees of the eligibility to receive public health emergency
leave if the employee's residence or place of employment is part
of the area affected by the public health emergency.
Section 303. Ongoing threat.
If a public health emergency was declared before and remains
in effect on the effective date of this act, public health
emergency leave under this act shall be:
(1) provided to employees under section 301 on the
effective date of this section; and
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(2) made available retroactively to employees employed
on the effective date of this section.
Section 304. Use of public health emergency leave.
(a) Uses.--Nothing in this act shall be construed to require
an employee to use public health emergency leave if the employee
is able to perform work remotely. An employee may elect to use
public health emergency leave for any of the following purposes
regardless of the ability to work remotely:
(1) To care for oneself because:
(i) The employee is diagnosed with a communicable
illness related to a public health emergency.
(ii) The employee is experiencing symptoms of a
communicable illness related to a public health
emergency.
(iii) To seek or obtain medical diagnosis, care or
treatment if experiencing symptoms of a communicable
illness related to a public health emergency.
(iv) To seek preventive care concerning a
communicable illness related to a public health
emergency.
(2) To care for a family member who:
(i) Is self-isolating due to being diagnosed with a
communicable illness related to a public health
emergency.
(ii) Is self-isolating due to experiencing symptoms
of a communicable illness related to a public health
emergency.
(iii) Needs medical diagnosis, care or treatment if
experiencing symptoms of a communicable illness related
to a public health emergency.
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(iv) Is seeking preventive care concerning a
communicable illness related to a public health
emergency.
(3) To adhere to a determination by a Federal, State or
local public official, a health authority having jurisdiction
or a health care provider that the employee's presence on the
job or in the community would jeopardize the health of others
because of the employee's exposure to a communicable illness
or exhibiting of symptoms, regardless of whether the employee
has been diagnosed with a communicable illness.
(4) To provide care to a family member due to a
determination by a Federal, State or local public official, a
health authority having jurisdiction or a health care
provider that the family member's presence on the job or in
the community would jeopardize the health of others because
of the family member's exposure to a communicable illness or
exhibiting of symptoms, regardless of whether the family
member has been diagnosed with a communicable illness.
(5) Closure of the employee's place of business by order
of a Federal, State or local public official or health
authority or at the discretion of the employer due to a
public health emergency.
(6) An employee's inability to work or telework while
under an individual or general Federal, State or local
quarantine or isolation order, including a shelter-in-place
order, related to the public health emergency.
(7) Care of a child or other family member when the care
provider of the individual is unavailable due to a public
health emergency or if the child's or family member's school
or place of care has been closed by a Federal, State or local
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public official or at the discretion of the school or place
of care due to a public health emergency, including if a
school or place of care is physically closed but providing
instruction remotely.
(b) Notice.--The employee shall provide notice to the
employer of the need for paid sick time as practicable only when
the need for paid sick time is foreseeable and the employer's
place of business has not been closed.
(c) Limitations.--An employer may not require, as a
condition of an employee's taking paid sick time, that the
employee search for or find a replacement worker to cover the
hours during which the employee is using paid sick time.
(d) Increments.--Paid sick time may be used in the smaller
of hourly increments or the smallest increment that the
employer's payroll system uses to account for absences or use of
other time.
(e) Documentation.--Documentation may not be required for
paid sick time under this act.
Section 305. Additional leave.
If an employee is entitled to paid sick time under Federal
law for any of the purposes under this act, paid sick time under
this act shall be in addition to that paid sick leave to the
extent permitted by Federal law.
Section 306. Subrogation.
An employer may not require an employee to use other paid
leave provided by the employer to the employee before the
employee uses the public health emergency leave under this act.
Section 307. Overtime.
Employees who are exempt from overtime requirements under 29
U.S.C. ยง 213(a)(1) (relating to exemptions) of the Fair Labor
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Standards Act of 1938 (52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C. ยง 201 et seq.)
will be assumed to work 40 hours in each work week for purposes
of paid sick time under this act unless their normal work week
is less than 40 hours, in which case paid sick time under this
act is based upon that normal work week.
Section 308. Termination.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring
financial or other reimbursement to an employee from an employer
upon the employee's termination, resignation, retirement or
other separation from employment for paid sick time that has not
been used.
CHAPTER 5
ENFORCEMENT
Section 501. Duties of department.
The department shall:
(1) Have authority to enforce this act.
(2) Be authorized to coordinate implementation and
enforcement of this act.
(3) Promulgate appropriate guidelines or regulations for
this act.
(4) Post the regulations and information about the
rights and duties of employees and employers under this act
on the department's publicly accessible Internet website.
Section 502. Enforcement.
This act shall be enforced under section 9 of the act of
January 17, 1968 (P.L.11, No.5), known as The Minimum Wage Act
of 1968.
Section 503. Exercise of rights protected and retaliation
prohibited.
(1) It shall be unlawful for an employer or any other
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person to interfere with, restrain or deny the exercise of or
the attempt to exercise any right protected under this act.
(2) An employer may not take retaliatory personnel
action or discriminate against an employee or former employee
because the person has exercised rights protected under this
act. These rights include the following:
(i) The right to request or use paid sick time under
this act.
(ii) The right to file a complaint with the
department or courts or inform any person about any
employer's alleged violation of this act.
(iii) The right to participate in an investigation,
hearing or proceeding or cooperate with or assist the
department in its investigations of alleged violations of
this act.
(iv) The right to inform any person of his or her
potential rights under this act.
(3) It shall be unlawful for an employer's absence
control policy to count paid sick time taken under this act
as an absence that may lead to or result in discipline,
discharge, demotion, suspension or any other adverse action.
(4) Protections of this section shall apply to any
person who mistakenly, but in good faith, alleges violations
of this act.
(5) There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful
retaliatory personnel action under this section whenever an
employer takes adverse action against a person within 90 days
of when that person:
(i) files a complaint with the department or a court
alleging a violation of any provision of this act;
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(ii) informs any person about an employer's alleged
violation of this act;
(iii) cooperates with the department or other
persons in the investigation or prosecution of any
alleged violation of this act;
(iv) opposes any policy, practice or act that is
unlawful under this act; or
(v) informs any person of his or her rights under
this act.
Section 504. Notice and posting.
(a) Notice.--Unless an employer's place of business is
closed due to a public health emergency, an employer shall give
employees written notice of their rights under this act, at the
commencement of employment or by the effective date of this
section, whichever is later, and annually thereafter. The notice
shall contain the following information:
(1) That employees are entitled to public health
emergency leave.
(2) The amount of public health emergency leave
guaranteed under this act.
(3) The terms of use of public health emergency leave
guaranteed under this act.
(4) That retaliatory personnel action against employees
who request or use public health emergency leave is
prohibited.
(5) That each employee has the right to file a complaint
or bring a civil action if public health emergency leave as
required by this act is denied by the employer or the
employee is subjected to retaliatory personnel action for
requesting or taking public health emergency leave.
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(6) The contact information for the department where
questions about rights and responsibilities under this act
can be answered.
(b) Languages.--The notice required in subsection (a) shall
be in English, Spanish and any other language that is the first
language spoken by at least 20% of the employer's workforce, if
the notice has been translated and provided by the department.
(c) Amount available.--The amount of paid sick time
available to the employee, the amount of paid sick time taken by
the employee to date in the year and the amount of pay the
employee has received as paid sick time shall be recorded in or
on an attachment to the employee's regular paycheck.
(d) Display.--Unless an employer's place of business is
closed due to a public health emergency, an employer shall
display a poster that contains the information required in
subsection (a) in a conspicuous and accessible place in each
establishment where the employees are employed. In cases where
the employer does not maintain a physical workplace, or an
employee telecommutes or performs work through a web-based
platform, notification shall be sent via electronic
communication or a conspicuous posting on the web-based
platform. The poster displayed shall be in English, Spanish and
any language that is deemed appropriate by the department, if
the poster has been provided by the department.
(e) Templates.--The department shall create and make
available to employers model notices and posters that contain
the information required under subsection (a) for employers' use
in complying with subsections (a) and (d).
(f) Waiver.--If an employee's business is closed due to a
public health emergency, the notice and posting requirements
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under subsections (a) and (d) shall be waived for the period in
which the place of business is closed.
(g) Violations.--An employer who willfully violates the
notice and posting requirements of this section shall be subject
to a civil fine in an amount not to exceed $100 for each
separate offense.
CHAPTER 7
ADMINISTRATION
Section 701. Employer records.
(a) Records.--For a period of three years, an employer shall
retain records documenting hours worked by employees, paid sick
time and public health emergency leave taken by employees and
allow the department access to these records, with appropriate
notice and at a mutually agreeable time, to monitor compliance
with the requirements of this act.
(b) Presumption.--If an issue arises as to an employee's
entitlement to public health emergency leave under this section,
if the employer does not maintain or retain adequate records
documenting hours worked by the employee, paid sick time and
public health emergency leave taken by the employee or does not
allow the department reasonable access to such records, it shall
be presumed that the employer has violated the act, absent clear
and convincing evidence otherwise.
Section 702. Confidentiality and nondisclosure.
Any health or safety information possessed by an employer
regarding an employee or employee's family member must:
(1) be maintained on a separate form and in a separate
file from other personnel information;
(2) be treated as confidential medical records; and
(3) not be disclosed except to the affected employee or
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with the express permission of the affected employee.
Section 703. No effect on more generous policies or laws.
Nothing in this act shall be construed as:
(1) Discouraging or prohibiting an employer from the
adoption or retention of a paid sick time policy more
generous than the one required in this act.
(2) Diminishing the obligation of an employer to comply
with a contract, collective bargaining agreement, employment
benefit plan or other agreement providing more generous paid
sick time to an employee than required under this act.
(3) Diminishing the rights of public employees regarding
paid sick time or use of paid sick time as provided in the
laws of this Commonwealth relating to public employees.
(4) Superseding any provision of a local law that
provides greater rights to paid sick time than the rights
established under this act.
Section 704. Other legal requirements.
This act provides minimum requirements pertaining to paid
sick time and may not be construed to preempt, limit or
otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation,
requirement, policy or standard that provides for a greater
amount, accrual or use by employees of paid sick time or that
extends other protections to employees.
Section 705. Public education and outreach.
The department shall develop and implement a multilingual
outreach program to inform employees, employers, parents, elder
care providers and persons who are under the care of a health
care provider about the availability of public health emergency
leave under this act.
Section 706. Severability.
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If any provision of this act or application thereof to any
person or circumstance is judged invalid, the invalidity shall
not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application,
and to this end the provisions of this act are declared
severable.
Section 707. Effective date.
This act shall take effect immediately.
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