Court ruling may necessitate overhaul of paid sick time policies and practices

Last month, I alerted readers to an Arizona Court of Appeals case, in which the court determined that various deviations from policies allowed an employee to proceed with his retaliation claim against his former employer using the Arizona Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act.

A refresher

According to the former employer, the company paid more paid sick time to the employee than required by law or company policy. The employer argued that since the former employee didn’t have paid sick time available at the time of his absences, the company’s actions couldn’t be in retaliation for his use of paid sick time.

The court disagreed, citing the fact that the company had paid the employee for paid sick time in the past 90 days (even though that payment was more than what was required by law or policy). It also cited that this payment of PST within the previous 90 days created a presumption that any adverse employment action was retaliatory. This ruling should have employers on high alert to review its policies and implement best practices to reduce the potential for liability for retaliation.

Am I required to have a paid sick time policy?

The Act doesn’t require employers to implement a specific policy for compliance, but does require employers to notify employees of their rights by posting the Earned Paid Sick Time poster in a conspicuous place, such as a breakroom.