of the employer, loan paid sick time to a covered direct care professional for use by such covered direct care professional in advance of the covered direct care professional earning such sick time as provided in this section and may permit use before the 60th day of employment. (B) Public health emergency Subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect to additional paid sick time provided under subsection (c). In the event of a public health emergency, a covered direct care professional may immediately use the additional or accrued paid sick time described in subsection (c), regardless of how long the covered direct care professional has been employed by an employer. (4) Carryover (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraph (B), paid sick time earned under this section shall carry over from 1 year to the next. (B) Construction Except as provided in subsection (c), this subtitle shall not be construed to require an employer to permit a covered direct care professional to earn more than 56 hours of earned paid sick time at a given time. (5) Employers with existing policies Any employer with a paid leave policy who makes available an amount of paid leave that is sufficient to meet the requirements of this section and that may be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as the purposes and conditions described in this section shall not be required to permit a covered direct care professional to earn additional paid sick time under this section. (6) Construction Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring financial or other reimbursement to a covered direct care professional from an employer upon the covered direct care professional’s termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment for earned paid sick time that has not been used. (7) Reinstatement If a covered direct care professional is separated from employment with an employer and is rehired, within 12 months after that separation, by the same employer, the employer shall reinstate the covered direct