San Francisco: Extension of Public Health Emergency Leave

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Mayor Breed recently extended the provisions of the Public Health Emergency Leave, which was originally enacted April 2020. The ordinance applies to employers with 500 or more employees (counting employees inside and outside San Francisco).

Employees working in San Francisco may take up to 80 hours (two weeks) of paid leave if they experience a qualifying reason. The reasons for leave are:

• The employee is subject to an individual or general Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
• The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine.
• The employee is experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
• The employee is caring for a family member who is subject to an order as described above, has been advised by a health care provider or is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
• The employee is caring for a family member whose normal school or place of care has been closed, or the care provider is unavailable, due to the public health emergency.
• The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Local Health Officer, or under Section 5102(a) (6) of the Families First Coronavirus Act, by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Effective February 11, 2021, certain bona-fide Section 501(c)(3) non-profit employers are prospectively exempt from the leave requirement. To qualify for the exemption, the non-profit entity must not be engaged in healthcare operations and a majority of their annual revenue is "program service revenue that is not unrelated business taxable income" under Section 512 of the IRC.

Employers should remain in compliance with the posting requirement and provision of leave. While the current extension is only for 61 days, it is expected to be extended again.

Public Health Emergency Leave Extension »
Public Health Emergency Leave Poster »