May 31, 2017
On May 8, 2017, Gov. Deal signed SB 201 into law, creating Section 34-1-10 of the Georgia code. This law does not require the provision of paid sick leave, but allows use of existing or future paid sick leave in order to care for immediate family members. Specifically, the new law requires employers that offer paid sick leave to allow employees to use up to five days of said leave in each calendar year to care for immediate family members.
The law applies to employers, public and private, that have 25 or more eligible employees, although an employer that offers an employee stock ownership plan is exempt from the requirement. An eligible employee is defined as an employee that works at least 30 hours per week.
An immediate family member is defined as an employee’s child, spouse, grandchild, grandparent or parent, or any dependents shown on the employee’s most recent tax return. Leave must be earned before taken and employees taking leave under this law must comply with the terms of the employer’s sick leave policy.
The new law is effective July 1, 2017.
SB 201 »