With Mandatory Paid Leave Gaining Ground Is It Time To Do Away With Your PTO and Go Back to a Sick/Vacation Time Off Program

Minnesota and Illinois passed mandatory sick leave laws that went into effect on January 1, 2024. and California increased the minimum number of days of sick leave required from 24 hours per year to 40 hours. A Federal Law requiring paid sick leave seems to be getting closer to becoming a reality.  

Do you have a Federal Contract?  If so, you are required to provide paid sick leave to your employees. 

Do you have a contract with a municipality?  If so, have you checked the fine print to see if the contract requires you to offer paid sick leave to your employees? 

Every Law is Different
One thing to know is that every state and municipal law requiring mandatory paid sick leave is different. Trying to comply with all of them is causing much confusion. For example, Vermont requires paid sick leave be offered after one year of service while other require it after 90 or 120 days. New York and Colorado require sick leave be paid as it accrues. Most require you to offer paid sick leave to part-time employees.  Others require it of all employees – even those who work on an on-call basis. 

Is Your PTO Plan Obsolete?
PTO or a Paid Time Off program that combined vacation and sick leave into one bucket of time off was the trend for many years. With the passage of these laws, many organizations are doing away with their PTO as many states require payment of unused PTO upon termination. However, the same states do not require payment of unused sick leave. Organizations can maintain their PTO Plans, but at what cost?

In this webinar, we will be reviewing mandatory paid sick leave laws in place now, review many of the differences and go over how to transition from a Sick/Vacation policy to a PTO policy as well as making the transition from a PTO plan to a Sick/Vacation plan.

• Gaining an understanding of the various states and municipalities mandating paid sick leave
• Understanding the good points and not-so-good points about PTO and Vacation/Sick leave
• Learning how to do a cost-benefit analysis to determine the best time off program for your organization
• Learn what to look for when planning the change.
• Effectively communicating change that is critical to the success of the change of your program.
• Develop a plan of action to ensure all bases are covered. 

• Current Mandatory Paid Sick Leave Laws in place.
• A review of pending legislation.
• A review of the different Mandatory Paid Sick Leave Requirements
• Examples of the Quandary of Compliance
• A comparison of PTO policies vs. Sick/Vacation
• Conducting a cost-benefit analysis for both plans
• Planning for change
• Communication of the change
• Action Items for participants

• With the above-described legislation, changes must be made to time off policies in those areas in which you have employees and require paid sick leave.
• Multi-state employers need to know what the compliance requirements are. Since each state and municipality has different rules for accrual and use of sick leave, compliance is difficult.
• Under mandatory paid sick leave, abuse can become a huge problem.  How will your organization deal with it?
   

• Human Resources Professionals
• Payroll administrators
• Benefits Professionals
• Business Managers
• Business Owners

Bob McKenzie brings over 40 years of extensive human resources management experience to the table. With a rich background spanning various industries in both the private sector, public sector, and nonprofit organizations, Bob has honed his expertise in all facets of HR practices.

His insights and expertise have been recognized in numerous Human Resources trade publications, including HR.com, HR Magazine, HR Florida Review, Vault.com, BNA, the Institute of Management and Administration, and the Business Journals. As a sought-after speaker, Bob has graced several conferences and led engaging audio and web-based seminars.

Bob holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce Degree with double majors in Industrial Relations and Organizational Behavior from Rider University. Currently residing in Brunswick, GA, Bob continues to be a driving force in the HR industry, offering valuable insights and solutions to organizations worldwide.