Regular Session 2019-2020 House Bill 2495 P.N. 3744

PRINTER'S NO. 3744

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

2495

Session of

2020

INTRODUCED BY D. MILLER, HILL-EVANS, RAVENSTAHL, GALLOWAY,

A. DAVIS, HANBIDGE, HOWARD, SHUSTERMAN, KINSEY, ROZZI,

DeLUCA, McNEILL, DONATUCCI, SANCHEZ, SCHWEYER, KRUEGER,

YOUNGBLOOD, MURT, WEBSTER, DELLOSO, TOMLINSON, SCHLOSSBERG,

O'MARA, GAINEY AND DEASY, MAY 13, 2020

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, MAY 13, 2020

AN ACT

Providing for COVID-19 large employer emergency paid sick leave.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1. Preliminary Provisions

Section 101. Short title of act.

Section 102. Purposes of act.

Section 103. Definitions.

Chapter 3. Emergency Paid Sick Leave

Section 301. Mandated employee benefit.

Section 302. Duration and amount of emergency paid sick leave.

Section 303. Termination of emergency paid sick leave.

Section 304. Prohibited actions.

Section 305. Notice.

Chapter 5. Administration and Enforcement

Section 501. Duties of department.

Section 502. Enforcement and penalties.

Section 503. Alleged violations of act.

Chapter 7. Miscellaneous Provisions

Section 701. Construction.

Section 702. Expiration.

Section 703. Effective date.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

CHAPTER 1

PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

Section 101. Short title of act.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the COVID-19

Large Employer Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act.

Section 102. Purposes of act.

The purposes of this act are to:

(1) Protect employees in this Commonwealth who work for

employers with 500 or more employees during the COVID-19

public health emergency by requiring access to the same

emergency paid sick leave that was available to other workers

through the Federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act

(Public Law 116-127).

(2) Prohibit an employer from requiring an employee of

the employer to use other paid leave or regular sick days

before using emergency paid sick leave.

(3) Prohibit an employer from requiring an employee of

the employer to find a replacement worker to cover the

employee's shift or any scheduled work hours while the

employee is on leave.

(4) Prohibit an employer from retaliating against an

employee of the employer for:

(i) taking emergency paid sick leave; or

(ii) filing a complaint against the employer or

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engaging in efforts to enforce emergency paid sick leave.

Section 103. 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:

"COVID-19." The novel coronavirus as identified in the

proclamation of disaster emergency issued by the Governor on

March 6, 2020, published at 50 Pa.B. 1644 (March 21, 2020), and

any renewal of the state of disaster emergency.

"Department." The Department of Labor and Industry of the

Commonwealth.

"Employee." An individual who is employed by an employer.

"Employer." Includes an individual, partnership,

association, corporation, business trust or other person or

group of persons acting, directly or indirectly, in the interest

of an employer in relation to an employee that employs 500 or

more employees in the United States, one or more of which are

residents of this Commonwealth.

"Secretary." The Secretary of Labor and Industry of the

Commonwealth.

CHAPTER 3

EMERGENCY PAID SICK LEAVE

Section 301. Mandated employee benefit.

An employer shall provide to each qualified employee of the

employer in this Commonwealth emergency paid sick leave to the

extent that the employee is unable to work or telework due to a

need for leave because of any of the following:

(1) The employee is subject to a Federal, State or local

quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.

(2) The employee has been advised by a health care

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provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-

19.

(3) The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19

and seeking a medical diagnosis from a health care provider

via test results for COVID-19.

(4) The employee is experiencing any other substantially

similar condition related to COVID-19 specified by the

Secretary of Health.

Section 302. Duration and amount of emergency paid sick leave.

(a) Amount of hours.--

(1) An employee shall be entitled to emergency paid sick

leave from the employer of the employee for the following

amount of hours:

(i) If the employee works full time for the

employer, 80 hours.

(ii) If the employee works part time for the

employer, the number of hours that the employee works, on

average, during a two-week period during the current

calendar year.

(2) Emergency paid sick leave under this subsection may

not carry over from the current year to the next.

(b) Rate.--An employee of an employer shall receive

emergency paid sick leave at the employee's regular rate of pay

on the same payment schedule, in the same manner of distribution

and with the same benefits.

(1) Emergency paid sick leave under this act shall be

available for immediate use by an employee for the purpose

intended under this act, regardless of the length of time

that the employee has been employed by the employer.

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(2) An employer may not require an employee to use other

paid leave provided by the employer to the employee before

the employee uses the emergency paid sick leave under this

act.

Section 303. Termination of emergency paid sick leave.

(a) Termination.--Emergency paid sick leave provided to an

employee under this act shall cease beginning with the

employee's next scheduled work shift immediately following the

termination of the need for emergency paid sick leave under this

act.

(b) Unused leave.--An employer shall not be required to pay

unused emergency paid sick leave to an employee of the employer

if the employee's employment with the employer ends through

termination, resignation, retirement or other separation from

employment.

Section 304. Prohibited actions.

An employer may not:

(1) Require an employee of the employer:

(i) To find a replacement worker to cover the

employee's shift or any scheduled work hours during the

emergency paid sick leave.

(ii) To take paid vacation leave, paid sick leave,

paid personal leave or other paid leave before taking the

emergency paid sick leave.

(2) Deny a right guaranteed under this act.

(3) Engage in any of the following actions, or threaten

to engage in any of the following actions, against an

employee of the employer who is exercising a right guaranteed

under this act:

(i) Discharge, suspend, demote or reduce the hours

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of the employee.

(ii) Report the 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.

(iii) Take any other adverse action against the

employee, including a sanction against the employee if

the employee is the recipient of public benefits.

(4) Interfere with or punish in any manner the employee

who participates in or assists an investigation, proceeding

or hearing under this act.

Section 305. Notice.

(a) Workplace posting.--Each employer shall post and keep

posted, in conspicuous places on the premises of the employer

where notices to employees are customarily posted, a notice, to

be prepared or approved by the secretary, of the requirements

described in this act.

(b) Model notice.--Not later than seven days after the

effective date of this subsection, the secretary shall make

available a model notice, which shall describe the requirements

of this act and shall be posted on the publicly accessible

Internet website of the department.

emergency paid sick leave, the employee shall provide the

employee's employer with as much notice as practicable.

(d) Ongoing notice.--An employer may require an employee of

the employer to continue to notify the employer of the ongoing

use of emergency paid sick leave after the initial notice under

subsection (c).

CHAPTER 5

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ADMINISTRATION AND 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 and penalties.

(a) Enforcement.--This act shall be enforced under section 6

of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (52 Stat. 1060, 29

U.S.C. § 206) and section 9 of the act of January 17, 1968

(P.L.11, No.5), known as The Minimum Wage Act of 1968.

(b) Penalties.--This act shall be subject to the penalties

described in sections 16 and 17 of the Fair Labor Standards Act

of 1938 (29 U.S.C. §§ 216 and 217) with respect to the

violation.

Section 503. Alleged violations of act.

(a) Rights.--A person may:

(1) File a complaint with the department or courts or

inform any other person about an employer's alleged violation

of this act.

(2) Participate in an investigation, hearing or

proceeding or cooperate with or assist the department in the

department's investigations of alleged violations of this

act.

(b) Good faith.--A person shall not be liable for any good

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faith allegation of a violation of this act.

CHAPTER 7

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Section 701. Construction.

Nothing in this act shall be construed in any way to diminish

the rights or benefits that an employee is entitled to under any

of the following:

(1) Federal, State or local law.

(2) A collective bargaining agreement.

(3) An existing policy of the employee's employer.

Section 702. Expiration.

This act shall expire December 31, 2020.

Section 703. Effective date.

This act shall take effect in 15 days.

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