Big Changes To Come In 2024 For Some California Health Laws

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 and teens to become addicted to nicotine by banning the sale of sweet flavors that appeal to them. Current law imposes a $250 fine for each infraction.

Beginning in January, retailers caught selling flavored tobacco could face thousands of dollars in civil penalties. Repeat offenders could have their retail tobacco licenses suspended or revoked by the California Department of Public Health. The laws are aimed at retailers, and do not punish anyone for purchasing, using or possessing flavored tobacco products.

More Undocumented Adults Eligible for Medi-Cal

Starting in the new year, all Californians aged 26 to 49 with low incomes can enroll in MediCal, regardless of their immigration status. That barrier had been removed for children, young adults, and people aged 50 and over who were in the country illegally.

After the expansion, about 3.2 million people will remain uninsured in California, according to academic researchers. Of those, a little over 1 million unauthorized immigrants will still remain uninsured because they make too much money to qualify for the program.

Medi-Cal’s annual income thresholds for most adults are: $17,609 for single people, $23,792 for a couple and $36,156 for a family of four.