Sec. 332. Paid sick time

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Subject to subsection (c), an employer shall provide each covered direct care professional employed by the employer not less than 1 hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, to be used as described in subsection (b). An employer shall not be required to permit a covered direct care professional to earn, under this subsection, more than 56 hours of paid sick time in a year, unless the employer chooses to set a higher limit. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), for purposes of this subsection, a covered direct care professional who is exempt from overtime requirements under section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ( 29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1) ) shall be deemed to work 40 hours in each workweek.

If the normal workweek of such a covered direct care professional is less than 40 hours, the covered direct care professional shall earn paid sick time under this subsection based upon that normal workweek. Except as provided in subparagraph

(B)and the second sentence of paragraph (8), covered direct care professionals shall begin to earn paid sick time under this section at the commencement of their employment. Except as provided in such subparagraph and such sentence, a covered direct care professional shall be entitled to use the earned paid sick time beginning on the 60th calendar day following commencement of the covered direct care professional’s employment. After that 60th calendar day, the covered direct care professional may use the paid sick time as the time is earned. An employer may, at the discretion of the employer, loan paid sick time to a covered direct care professional for use by such covered direct care professional in advance of the covered direct care professional earning such sick time as provided in this section and may permit use before the 60th day of employment. Subparagraph

(A)shall not apply with respect to additional paid sick time provided under subsection (c). In the event of a public health emergency, a covered direct care professional may immediately use the additional or accrued paid sick time described in subsection (c), regardless of how long the covered direct care professional has been employed by an employer. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), paid sick time earned under this section shall carry over from 1 year to the next. Except as provided in subsection (c), this subtitle shall not be construed to require an employer to permit a covered direct care professional to earn more than 56 hours of earned paid sick time at a given time. Any employer with a paid leave policy who makes available an amount of paid leave that is sufficient to meet the requirements of this section and that may be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as the purposes and conditions described in this section shall not be required to permit a covered direct care professional to earn additional paid sick time under this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring financial or other reimbursement to a covered direct care professional from an employer upon the covered direct care professional’s termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment for earned paid sick time that has not been used. If a covered direct care professional is separated from employment with an employer and is rehired, within 12 months after that separation, by the same employer, the employer shall reinstate the covered direct care professional’s previously earned paid sick time. The covered direct care professional shall be entitled to use the earned paid sick time and earn additional paid sick time at the recommencement of employment with the employer. An employer may not require, as a condition of providing paid sick time under this subtitle, that the covered direct care professional involved search for or find a replacement to cover the hours during which the covered direct care professional is using paid sick time. Paid sick time earned under this section may be used by a covered direct care professional for any of the following: An absence resulting from a physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition of the covered direct care professional. An absence resulting from obtaining professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventive medical care, for the covered direct care professional. An absence resulting from the closure of a covered direct care professional’s place of employment by order of a Federal or State public official with jurisdiction, or at the employer’s discretion, due to a public health emergency. An absence because a Federal or State public official with jurisdiction or a health care provider has determined that the covered direct care professional’s presence in the community may jeopardize the health of others because of the covered direct care professional’s exposure to a communicable disease during a public health emergency, regardless of whether the covered direct care professional has actually contracted the communicable disease. An absence for the purpose of caring for a child, a parent, a spouse, a domestic partner, or any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the covered direct care professional is the equivalent of a family relationship— who is a child, if the child’s school or place of care has been closed by order of a Federal or State public official with jurisdiction or at the discretion of the school or place of care due to a public health emergency, including if a school or entity operating the place of care is physically closed but is providing education or care to the child remotely; or because a Federal or State public official with jurisdiction or a health care provider has determined that the presence in the community of the person receiving care may jeopardize the health of others because of the person’s exposure to a communicable disease during a public health emergency, regardless of whether the person has actually contracted the communicable disease. An absence for the purpose of caring for a child, a parent, a spouse, a domestic partner, or any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the covered direct care professional is the equivalent of a family relationship— who has any of the conditions or needs for diagnosis or care described in paragraph

(1)or (2); who is a child, if the covered direct care professional is required to attend a school meeting or a meeting at a place where the child is receiving care necessitated by the child’s health condition or disability; or who is otherwise in need of care. An absence resulting from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, if the time is to— seek medical attention for the covered direct care professional or the covered direct care professional’s child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, or an individual related to the covered direct care professional as described in paragraph (6), to recover from physical or psychological injury or disability caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; obtain or assist a related person described in paragraph

(6)in obtaining services from a victim services organization; obtain or assist a related person described in paragraph

(6)in obtaining psychological or other counseling; seek relocation; or take legal action, including preparing for or participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or resulting from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. On the date of a declaration of a public health emergency by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 247d ) or a major disaster or emergency declared by the President under section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5170 , 5191), an employer in the jurisdiction involved shall provide each covered direct care professional of the employer in that jurisdiction with additional paid sick time, in addition to any amount of paid sick time accrued by the covered direct care professional under subsection

(a)(including paid leave referred to in subsection (a)(4)). In receiving additional paid sick time under paragraph (1), the covered direct care professional shall receive— for a full-time salaried covered direct care professional, a specified amount of paid sick time that is sufficient to provide the covered direct care professional with 14 continuous days away from work without a reduction in pay; and for a part-time or hourly covered direct care professional, a specified amount of paid sick time equal to the number of hours that the covered direct care professional was scheduled to work or, if not so scheduled, regularly works in a 14-day period. The additional sick time and accrued sick time described in this subsection shall be available for immediate use by the covered direct care professional for the purposes described in any paragraph of subsection

(b)beginning on the date a public health emergency is declared, regardless of how long the covered direct care professional has been employed by an employer. During the public health emergency, a covered direct care professional may first use the additional sick time for those purposes. The covered direct care professional may then use the accrued sick time during the public health emergency, or retain the accrued sick time for use after the public health emergency. An employer may not require a covered direct care professional to use the accrued sick time, or any other paid leave provided by the employer to the covered direct care professional, before using the additional sick time. A covered direct care professional may take the additional sick time on the schedule that meets the covered direct care professional’s needs, consistent with subsection (b), including taking the additional sick time intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule, and an employer may not require a covered direct care professional to take the additional sick time in a single period or on any other schedule specified by the employer. A covered direct care professional shall make a reasonable effort to schedule a period of paid sick time under subsection

(a)in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer. Paid sick time shall be provided upon the oral or written request of a covered direct care professional. Such request shall— include the expected duration of the period of such time; and in a case in which the need for such period of time is foreseeable at least 7 days in advance of such period, be provided at least 7 days in advance of such period; and otherwise, be provided as soon as practicable after the covered direct care professional is aware of the need for such period. Subject to subparagraphs

(C)and (D), an employer may require that a request for paid sick time under this section for a purpose described in paragraph (1), (2), or

(6)of subsection

(b)be supported by a certification issued by the health care provider of the covered direct care professional or of an individual described in subsection (b)(6), as appropriate, if the period of such time covers more than 3 consecutive workdays. The covered direct care professional shall provide a copy of such certification to the employer in a timely manner, not later than 30 days after the first day of the period of time. The employer shall not delay the commencement of the period of time on the basis that the employer has not yet received the certification. A certification provided under subparagraph

(A)shall be sufficient if it states— the date on which the period of time will be needed; the probable duration of the period of time; the appropriate medical facts within the knowledge of the health care provider regarding the condition involved, subject to clause (ii); and for purposes of paid sick time under subsection (b)(1), a statement that absence from work is medically necessary; for purposes of such time under subsection (b)(2), the dates on which testing for a medical diagnosis or care is expected to be given and the duration of such testing or care; and for purposes of such time under subsection (b)(6), in the case of time to care for someone who is not a child, a statement that care is needed for an individual described in such subsection, and an estimate of the amount of time that such care is needed for such individual. In issuing a certification under subparagraph (A), a health care provider shall make reasonable efforts to limit the medical facts described in clause (i)(III) that are disclosed in the certification to the minimum necessary to establish a need for the covered direct care professional to use paid sick time. No certification or other documentation may be required under this subtitle by an employer during any public health emergency. Regulations prescribed under section 339 shall specify the manner in which a covered direct care professional who does not have health insurance shall provide a certification for purposes of this paragraph. Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to require a health care provider to disclose information in violation of section 1177 of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1320d–6 ) or the regulations promulgated pursuant to section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ( 42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note). If an employer possesses health information about a covered direct care professional, a covered direct care professional’s child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, or an individual related to the covered direct care professional as described in subsection (b)(6), such information shall— be maintained on a separate form and in a separate file from other personnel information; be treated as a confidential medical record; and not be disclosed except to the affected covered direct care professional or with the permission of the affected covered direct care professional. An employer may require that a request for paid sick time under this section for a purpose described in subsection (b)(7) be supported by any one of the following: A police report indicating that the covered direct care professional, or a member of the covered direct care professional’s family described in subsection (b)(7), was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. A court order protecting or separating the covered direct care professional or a member of the covered direct care professional’s family described in subsection (b)(7) from the perpetrator of an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or other evidence from the court or prosecuting attorney that the covered direct care professional or a member of the covered direct care professional’s family described in subsection (b)(7) has appeared in court or is scheduled to appear in court in a proceeding related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Other documentation signed by a covered direct care professional or volunteer working for a victim services organization, an attorney, a police officer, a medical professional, a social worker, an antiviolence counselor, or a member of the clergy, affirming that the covered direct care professional or a member of the covered direct care professional’s family described in subsection (b)(7) is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The requirements of paragraph

(2)shall apply to certifications under this paragraph, except that— subclauses

(III)and

(IV)of subparagraph (B)(i) and subparagraph (B)(ii) of such paragraph shall not apply; the certification shall state the reason that the leave is required with the facts to be disclosed limited to the minimum necessary to establish a need for the covered direct care professional to be absent from work, and the covered direct care professional shall not be required to explain the details of the domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking involved; and with respect to confidentiality under subparagraph

(E)of such paragraph, any information provided to the employer under this paragraph shall be confidential, except to the extent that any disclosure of such information is— requested or consented to in writing by the covered direct care professional; or otherwise required by applicable Federal or State law. An employer may not specify which of the forms of documentation described in clause (i), (ii), or

(iii)of subparagraph

(A)is required to be provided in order to satisfy the requirement under such subparagraph.

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