Paid Sick Leave and Provider Benefits: What IHSS Providers Can Claim

Paid sick leave is the benefit most IHSS providers never use, usually because nobody explained that it has to be earned first and that it disappears every summer. Here is how it works, and what else you may be entitled to.

40 hours a year, on the state's fiscal year

Active IHSS and WPCS providers get 40 hours of paid sick leave per state fiscal year, which runs July 1 to June 30. The amount went up from 24 to 40 hours on July 1, 2024, and CDSS has confirmed 40 hours again for the year starting July 1, 2026. It is paid at your regular hourly rate.

The catch: unused hours do not carry over. Whatever you have not claimed by June 30 is gone, and a fresh 40 hours appears on July 1 as long as you are still active.

You have to earn it first, once

Two one-time steps unlock sick leave for a new provider:

1. Work 100 hours of authorized services after your initial hire date. That is when your sick leave is credited.
2. Then either work 200 more hours or stay active for 60 calendar days, whichever comes first. After that you can use it.

You only do this once. If you leave IHSS for more than a year and come back, you start over.

How to claim it

• Online, in the ESP (fastest): submit a sick leave claim from your account at etimesheets.ihss.ca.gov. No form to mail.
• On paper, with form SOC 2302: fill in the dates and times, sign it (only you sign; no reason is required), and mail it in its own envelope with your timesheet. Keep a copy. It must arrive by the end of the month after the month you took the leave, or it cannot be processed.

Sick leave pay comes as a separate payment from your regular check, by the same direct deposit or pay card. Sick leave is for hours you were scheduled to work and missed. Claims are at least one hour per occurrence, then in 30-minute steps. Tell the recipient as early as you can so they can arrange backup care.

Other benefits to ask about

• Health coverage. Many counties offer a health plan to providers through the Public Authority and the union, usually with a minimum number of paid hours per month to qualify and stay enrolled. The rules and the plan differ by county, so call your Public Authority; the number is on your county page.
• Workers' compensation. IHSS providers are covered if they are hurt while working. Report an injury to your county IHSS office as soon as it happens, and get medical care first.
• Unemployment insurance. Many providers are covered when work ends through no fault of their own. Providers caring for a spouse, parent or child may not be, because of family-employment rules; the EDD decides case by case.
• Training. The statewide Career Pathways program stopped taking new enrollments in September 2024. Some Public Authorities and unions still run free trainings; ask what is offered in your county.