Sick Leave Policies

Typically, employers choose to offer employees several types of paid time off, like sick leave. But depending on the business location, employers may no longer have a choice. Little by little, paid sick leave laws are on the rise.

WS
The WorkSight Archive
Post Image

Sick Leave Policies

Typically, employers choose to offer employees several types of paid time off, like sick leave. But depending on the business location, employers may no longer have a choice. Little by little, paid sick leave laws are on the rise.

If your employees work in a jurisdiction with mandatory paid sick leave, you must comply. But to remain compliant, you need know about the law in the first place.

What do paid sick leave laws entail?

What do Sick Leave Laws Entail? Accrued Time Off Rates, Maximum Accrual Limits, and Carry Forward Limits

When your employees are sick, the last thing they want to do is get out of bed and work, and as an employer, you do not want them exposing everyone at your business to infection.

Sick leave is time off an employee can take if they or a family member are sick. With paid sick leave, the employee receives the same wages as if they worked.

Generally, paid sick leave laws specify information like accrued time off rates, maximum accrual limits, and carry forward limits. Employers can still choose to go beyond the legal requirements (e.g., letting employees accrue more time than the accrual limit).

Paid Sick Leave in the United States

States with Paid Sick Leave

Federal Policies

Currently, there is no federal sick leave law. However, sixteen states and Washington D.C. provide state sick pay.

State Policies

As of 2021, sixteen US states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington); have state sick leave policies. The main difference between state laws is how quickly employees can accrue paid sick leave. However, all states allow employers to "front-load" sick time. Front-loading means that employers give employees their paid sick leave hours in one lump sum at the beginning of the year.

Employers who front-load time off do not need to let employees carry over hours.

StateAccrualCapCarry Forward
Arizona1 hour / 30 worked24 hours (employers with fewer than fifteen employees)

40 hours (employers with fifteen or more employees)
Carry forward up to 24 hrs to the next year. Or pay out unused sick leave.

Employers who front-load time off do not need to let employees carry over hours
California1 hour / 30 worked24 hoursUnused carried from year to year.

If an employee does carry over time, employers can limit their total accrued paid sick leave to 48 hours.
Colorado1 hour / 30 worked48 hourscarry over up to 48 hours of unused to the next year
Connecticut1 hour / 40 worked40 hourscarry over up to 40 hours of unused to the next year
Maine1 hour/ 40 worked40 hourscarry over up to 40 hours of unused to the next year.

The amount of time an employee can accrue in the next year is reduced by the number of hours the employee carries over
Maryland1 hour / 30 worked40 hourscarry over up to 40 hours of unused to the next year total accrued time cannot be more than 64 hours.
Massachusetts1 hour / 30 worked40 hourscarry over up to 40 hours of unused to the next year.

Employers who front-load time off do not need to let employees carry over hours.
Michigan1 hour / 35 worked40 hourscarry over up to 40 hours of unused to the next year.

Employers who front-load time off do not need to let employees carry over hours.
Nevada0.01923 hours / 1 hour workedNo stated cap; can cap usage at 40 hours per yearEmployees can carry over accrued paid time off. However, employers can limit the carryover amount to 40 hours per benefit year
New Mexico (Effective July 1, 2022)1 hour / 30 workedNo stated cap; can cap usage at 64 hours per 12-month period.

Alternatively, employers frontload the full 64 hours to on Jan. 1 of each year
Employees can carry over accrued paid time off.
New Jersey1 hour / 30 worked40 hourscarry over up to 40 hours of unused to the next year
New York1 hour / 30 worked40 hours (employers with 5 – 99 employees)

56 hours (employers with one hundred or more employees)
The state has not yet announced carryover rules.
Oregon1 hour / 30 worked OR 1 ⅓ hours / 40 worked40 hourscarry over up to 40 hours of unused to the next year.

Employers can cap an employee's total accrued balance at 80 hours. Employers who front-load do not need to let employees carry over unused hours.
Rhode Island1 hour / 35 worked40 hoursEmployers must let employees carry over their unused paid sick leave. Or employers can pay employees for their accrued time.
Vermont1 hour / 52 worked40 hoursEmployees who accrue paid sick leave can carry up to 40 hours from one year to the next.

Employers who give employees a lump sum of paid sick leave do not need to let employees carry it over
Washington1 hour / 40 hours workedEmployers cannot set an accrual capcarry over up to 40 hours of unused to the next year.
Washington DC1 hour / 87 hours worked employers with fewer than twenty-five employees)

1 hour / 43 hours worked (employers with 25 – 99 employees)

1 hour / 37 hours worked (employers with one hundred or more employees)
24 hours (employers with less than 25 employees)

40 hours (employers with 25 – 99 employees)

56 hours (employers with one hundred or more employees)
Employees can carry over their earned but unused paid sick leave from one year to the next.

Paid Sick Leave in Canada

Provinces with Paid Sick Leave

Federal Policies

Canada now has ten paid sick days per year but only for federally regulated workers.

Under the Canada Labour Code (CLC), the workers in the following sectors, are deemed to be federally regulated employees:

  • Banking (eg. CIBC bank)
  • Inter-provincial/international transportation (e.g., trucking companies, railways)
  • Airports, and Air transportation (e.g., Air Canada)
  • Television, Telephone, Radio, and Cable systems (e.g., Rogers/Bell)
  • Fisheries
  • Grain Elevators
  • Uranium Mining and Processing
  • First Nation Activities and Crown Corporations

Provincial Policies

As of this writing only three provinces have paid sick leave policies.

ProvinceAccrualCapCarry Forward
British Columbia5 days after 90 days of employment with their current employer5 daysnone
Prince Edward Island1 day after 5 consecutive years of employment with their current employer1 daynone
QuebecAfter 3months of uninterrupted service, an employee mayreceive 2 days of paid absence per year.2 daysnone