SB 635 — Healthy Families and Workplaces/Paid Sick Leave.

FILED SENATE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA MarSESSION 25, 2025 S.B.S 1 SENATE BILL 635 Short Title:

635 SESSION 2025 PRINCIPAL CLERK S D SENATE BILL DRS55017-LR-147B Short Title:

Rules and Operations of the Senate March 26, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT PROVIDING FOR HEALTHY FAMILIES AND HEALTHY WORKPLACES BY ENSURING THAT ALL WORKERS HAVE EARNED PAID SICK DAYS TO ADDRESS THEIR OWN HEALTH NEEDS AND THE HEALTH NEEDS OF THEIR FAMILIES.

and *DRS55017-LR-147B**S635-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 Whereas, low-income workers are significantly less likely to have earned paid sick days, with 60% of those earning less than $20,000 per year lacking access to earned paid sick days;

Chapter 95 of the General Statutes is amended bybyadding adding a new Article to read:

Page 2 DRS55017-LR-147BSenate Bill 635-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (11) Small business.

(3) Absence necessary due to circumstances resulting from the employee, or a family member of the employee, being a victim of stalking or domestic or sexual violence, if the leave is to allow the employee to obtain for the employee or the family member (i) medical attention needed to recover from physical or psychological injury or disability caused by stalking or domestic or sexual violence, (ii) services from a designated domestic violence agency or other victim services organization, (iii) psychological or other counseling, (iv) relocation, or (v) legal services, including obtaining a restraining order or preparing for, orparticipatingin, anycivil or criminal legal proceedingproceedingrelated related to the stalking or domestic or sexual violence.

DRS55017-LR-147BSenate Bill 635-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 Any reasonable documentation signed bybya a health care provider involved in following or treating the illness, injury, or health condition and indicating the need for the number of sick days taken shall be deemed acceptable certification.

Acceptable certification of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking maymayinclude include (i) law enforcement, court, or federal agency records or files, (ii) documentation from a domestic violence or sexual assault program, or (iii) documentation from a religious, medical, or other professional from whom assistance was sought in dealing with the alleged domestic violence, sexual offense, or stalking.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an employee to provide as certification any information from a health care provider that would be in violation of section 1177 of the Social Security Act or the regulations promulgatedpursuantto section264(c)oftheHealthInsurancePortabilityandsection264(c)oftheHealth InsurancePortabilityand Accountability Act, 42 U.S.C.

(h) This act provides minimum requirements pertaining to paid sick time and shall not be construed to preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, agreement, or standard that provides for greater accrual or use bybyemployees employees of sick time, whether paid or unpaid, or that extends other protections to employees.

(i) Employers who have a paid time-off leave policy shall not be required to modify that policy, if that policypolicyoffers offers an employee the option, at the employee's discretion, to take paid sick Page 4 DRS55017-LR-147BSenate Bill 635-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 time that is at least equivalent to the amounts and for the same purposes and under the same conditions as provided under this section.

Employersshall givenotice(i)thatemployees are entitledto paid sicktime,(ii)oftheamountsicktime,(ii)ofthe amount ofpaid sicktimeand theterms ofits useguaranteedunderthis section,section,(iii)thatretaliation (iii) that retaliation against employees who request or use paid sick time is prohibited, and (iv) that each employee has the right to file a complaint with the Commissioner of Labor or in the General Court of Justice if paid sick time as required by this Article is denied by the employer or the employee is retaliated against for requesting or taking paid sick time.

DRS55017-LR-147BSenate Bill 635-First Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 "(a) No person shall discriminate or take any retaliatory action against an employee because the employee in good faith does or threatens to do any of the following:

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