Bill > SB20

This bill, titled the "Paid Leave Act," establishes a new right for employees to take paid leave to attend parent-teacher conferences for their school-aged children. Specifically, parents are granted up to two hours of paid leave per child during the fall semester (August through December) and up to two hours per child during the spring semester (January through May) to attend these conferences at their child's school. The bill defines "attendance" to include travel time and clarifies that "parent" includes guardians or other responsible individuals. Employers can require employees to give at least seven days' notice for leave requests, unless the conference is scheduled with shorter notice, and may also require documentation of attendance. Employees are expected to make reasonable efforts to schedule conferences at times agreeable to their employer. Crucially, employers are prohibited from taking any negative employment action, such as firing or demoting, against an employee for requesting or using this paid leave, and employees who are retaliated against can sue their employer and recover their legal costs, including attorney fees.