California health laws that will take effect on Jan. 1 could affect paid sick leave, Medi-Cal eligibility and health workers’ minimum wage.
Here are some of the health-related changes that will start in the new year.
Paid Sick Leave Increases
California workers will see a boost in paid sick leave, up from a guaranteed three days to five days, or 40 hours. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an expansion of the state’s policy into law in October, though the original bill had proposed expanding it to seven days.
In 2014, California was among the first states to make sick days mandatory, but it now trails 14 other states and Washington, D.C., in the amount of time offered. The United States is one of six countries with no national paid leave requirement.
Health Worker Raises
Nursing assistants, custodians, medical technicians and other support staff will see a wage hike that rolls out at the start of the new year. The law will gradually raise pay for about a half million California health workers, setting them on a path to a $25-an-hour minimum wage.
How soon workers reach that level of pay depends on the type of facility in which they work. Most workers will make $25 an hour by 2027 or 2028. But some hospital workers who treat lower-income patients won’t get to a $25 minimum until 2033.
Flavored Tobacco Ban Enforcement
Chocolate, cotton candy, menthol.
Since December 2022, it has been illegal to sell those and other flavors of tobacco products at stores and in vending machines in the Golden State. Starting next year, the penalties for breaking the law will be stronger.
Advocates for the law sought to make it harder for children…
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