(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) below, an Employee may use Public Health Emergency Leave during a Public Health Emergency if the Employee is unable to work due to any of the following:
(1) The recommendations or requirements of an individual or general federal, state, or local health order (including an order issued by the local jurisdiction in which an Employee resides) related to the Public Health Emergency.
(2) The Employee has been advised by a Healthcare Provider to isolate or quarantine.
(3) The Employee is experiencing symptoms of and seeking a medical diagnosis, or has received a positive medical diagnosis, for a possible infectious, contagious, or communicable disease associated with the Public Health Emergency.
(4) The Employee is caring for a Family Member who is subject to an order as described in subsection (a)(1), has been advised as described in subsection (a)(2), or is experiencing symptoms as described in subsection (a)(3).
(5) The Employee is caring for a Family Member if the school or place of care of the Family Member has been closed, or the care provider of such Family Member is unavailable, due to the Public Health Emergency.
(6) An Air Quality Emergency, if the Employee is a member of a Vulnerable Population and primarily works outdoors.
(b) An Employer of an Employee who is a Healthcare Provider or an Emergency Responder may elect to limit such an Employee’s use of Public Health Emergency Leave, but at a minimum such an Employee may use Public Health Emergency Leave during a Public Health Emergency to the extent that the Employee is unable to work due to any of the following:
(1) The Employee has been advised by a Healthcare Provider to isolate or quarantine.
(2) The Employee is experiencing symptoms of and is seeking a medical diagnosis, or has received a positive medical diagnosis, for a possible infectious, contagious, or communicable disease associated with the Public Health Emergency and does not meet federal, state, or local guidance to return to work.
(3) An Air Quality Emergency, if the Employee is a member of a Vulnerable Population, primarily works outdoors, and has been advised by a Healthcare Provider not to work during an Air Quality Emergency.
(c) With respect to subsections (a)(1), (2), and (6) and subsections (b)(1) and (3) above, if an Employee is able to telework without increasing the Employee’s exposure to disease or unhealthy air quality, the Employee may not use Public Health Emergency Leave.
(d) An Employer may not require, as a condition of an Employee’s taking Public Health Emergency Leave, that the Employee search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which the Employee is on Public Health Emergency Leave.
(e) An Employer may not require, as a condition of an Employee’s taking Public Health Emergency Leave, that the Employee take Public Health Emergency Leave in increments of more than one hour.
(f) An Employer may require the Employee to follow reasonable notice procedures in order to use Public Health Emergency Leave, but only when the need for Public Health Emergency Leave is foreseeable.
(g) An Employer may require a doctor’s note or other documentation to confirm an Employee’s status as a member of a Vulnerable Population, if that Employee uses Public Health Emergency Leave for a use inapplicable to an Employee who is not a member of a Vulnerable Population. An Employer may not otherwise require the disclosure of health information for use of Public Health Emergency Leave.
(h) An Employer shall provide payment for Public Health Emergency Leave taken by an Employee no later than the payday for the next regular payroll period after the Public Health Emergency Leave is taken.
(Added as Police Code Sec. 3300P.4 by Proposition G, 6/7/2022, Eff. 7/10/2022, Oper. 10/1/2022; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)