While many employers are concerned with complying with the recently passed statewide COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, employers should also be aware of the interactions between regular paid sick leave and COVID-19 related absences. As such, employers are well-served to stay current on the latest updates for San Francisco’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance.

The San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) recently issued a temporary update to its guidance regarding San Francisco’s Paid Sick Leave ordinance and COVID-19. The following is a summary of the temporary changes made to that guidance.

Policies Requiring Doctor’s Notes

Under the temporarily amended guidance, policies or practices that require a doctor’s note or other documentation for the use of paid sick leave of more than five consecutive workdays (whether full or partial days) shall be deemed presumptively reasonable, provided an employee is using paid sick leave for a COVID-19 related reason and is not under a doctor’s care, the employer shall accept the employee’s attestation of the need for paid sick leave pursuant to current CDC guidelines and OLSE Rule 2.4, pertaining to potential abuse of sick leave. This change is temporary and only in effect for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

When the public health emergency ends, or upon a decision to revoke this temporary guidance, the guidance will revert back to the previous rule which stated that requiring a doctor’s note for the...

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