Paid Family Leave Grant Available to Small Businesses
Small Business Grant Money for Paid Family Leave
As of June 2024, California businesses with between 1 and 100 employees may qualify to receive grants of up to $2,000 for each employee who is off work for a reason covered by California’s Paid Family Leave (“PFL”) program. The intent of the PFL Small Business Grant program is to help small businesses offset some of the expenses they incur while complying with their PFL obligations.
What is “Paid Family Leave?”
Paid Family Leave is a component of the State Disability Insurance (SDI) program that provides partial wage replacement benefits to California workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or registered domestic partner. Benefits also are available to new parents who need time off work to bond with a new child through birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
Paid Family Leave is Not Leave
Unfortunately, the name of the PFL program has created confusion for employers and employees. PFL is not an entitlement to leave. It simply provides wage replacement benefits to employees who otherwise are entitled to take time off for reasons covered under PFL. NOTE: PFL must be taken in connection with an official Leave of Absence for which the employee qualifies (such as FMLA/CFRA or ADA Accommodation).
The Grant
California’s Employment Training Panel administers the PFL Small Business Grant Program, which provides up to $2,000 for covered employers. The actual amount of each grant depends on the employer’s size. Businesses with between 51 and 100 employees may receive up to $1,000 per employee using PFL wage reimbursement, while employers with between 1 and 50 employees may receive up to $2,000 per employee using PFL wage reimbursement.
To be eligible, a business must be registered to do business in California, be in active status with the California Secretary of State and have an active California Employer Account Number (CEAN), which lists the employees on payroll. NOTE: small businesses that use a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) for payroll services are ineligible for the grant program if the business files under the PEO’s CEAN.
Small Businesses can access the grant here: Grant Money - Paid Family Leave Grant Application (californiapfl.com). Eligible employers should submit their applications as soon as an employee begins receiving PFL benefits after June 1, 2024. Applications will be accepted through May 31, 2026, or until funding is exhausted.
Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Regulations
As of July 24, Cal/OSHA has implemented an Indoor Heat Illness Prevention requirement. For indoor workplaces where the temperature reaches 87 degrees Fahrenheit, employers must take steps to protect workers from heat illness. Some of the requirements include providing water, rest, cool-down areas, methods for cooling down the work areas under certain conditions, and training.
Companies may be covered under both the indoor and outdoor regulations if they have both indoor and outdoor workplaces. See the Comparison Chart of Indoor and Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Standards.
Cal/OSHA helps protect workers from health and safety hazards on the job in almost every workplace in California. Employers and workers who have questions or need assistance with workplace health and safety programs can call Cal/OSHA’s Consultation Services Branch at 800-963-9424.
There are more resources for employers and workers on Cal/OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention web page and the 99calor.org informational website, as well as a Heat Illness Prevention online tool. The advisory includes a toll free number for workers who have questions about heat illness prevention in indoor and outdoor places of employment can speak with a Cal/OSHA representative, 1-833-579-0927, and information on how to file confidential complaints with Cal/OSHA district offices about workplace safety and health hazards.
The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board is the standards-setting agency within the Cal/OSHA program. The Standards Board's objective is to adopt reasonable and enforceable standards that are at least as effective as federal standards. The Standards Board also has the responsibility to grant or deny applications for variances from adopted standards and respond to petitions for new or revised standards.
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