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ARTICLE · 22 APRIL 2015

Sick leave in the USA... The patient's condition is improving

Carroll & O'Dea
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By Australian standards, this US entitlement is still small – 3 days a year with a capped maximum accumulation of 6 days.

AustraliaEmployment and HR
Peter Punch
Peter Punch
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In California, USA, starting on 1 July 2015, all employees will get, for the first time, a statutory minimum sick leave entitlement.

This will make California the second out of 50 States of the USA to provide this extraordinarily generous benefit.

But by long established Australian standards, the entitlement is pretty small – in effect 3 days a year with a capped maximum accumulation of 6 days.

This "breakthrough" is provided for in the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act 2014 (California).

The Act's new entitlement is of course surrounded by conditions and exceptions (such a milestone would have to be smothered in them for employers to be able to cope) but the main elements are these:

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