The Torrance Chamber has joined the California Chamber of Commerce and many other organizations in opposing AB84 (Ting)/SB95 (Skinner), as these bills would impose a significant cost onto small employers, who the State has already acknowledged are suffering due to this pandemic. View coalition letter in opposition to Assembly Bill 84 and Senate Bill 95.
This paid sick leave mandate would essentially negate any financial relief small employers may receive through proposed grant programs pending in the Budget. Specifically, AB,84/SB95
- require employers with only one or more employees, to provide up to 80 hours of paid sick leave per calendar year to all employees for COVID-19 related reasons,
- apply retroactively to January 1, 2021,
- provide no tax credit or funding to businesses to offset the cost of the leave unlike the Families First Coronavirus Act (FFCRA), and
- drastically expand the reasons for which an employee can take leave.
California has an approximate $20 billion budget windfall. Similar to the federal government, California should pay for sick leave it it believes it is necessary to address COVID-19, despite the number of existing leaves already in place