Today, Calif. Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order that will give two weeks of supplemental paid sick leave to certain food sector workers if they are subject to a quarantine or isolation order or medical directive.

The Executive Order applies to workers in the food sector, including farmworkers, agricultural workers, those working in grocery stores and fast food chains, and delivery drivers. 

Full-time Food Sector Workers will be eligible for 80 hours of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave if they are unable to work due to any of the following reasons:

• The Food Sector Worker is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
• The Food Sector Worker is advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine or self-isolate due to concerns related to COVID-19; or
• The Food Sector Worker is prohibited from working by the Food Sector Worker’s Hiring Entity due to health concerns related to the potential transmission of COVID-19.

Part-time Food Sector Workers will be eligible for some lesser number of hours of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave based on the total number of hours the worker is normally scheduled to work.

Click here to access the full text of the Executive Order.

Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), employers with under 500 employers were already subject to a federal mandate to provide 80 hours of COVID-19-related paid sick time for covered full-time employees. COVID-19 Supplemental Paid leave is in addition to PSL available under Labor Code section 246 and like the FFCRA, is capped at $511 per day and $5,110 in total over the period the Executive Order remains in effect. 

Click here to access the WG webinar on FFCRA paid leave mandates.