Maps

Sick leave and time off by state

Last checked Nov 5, 2026

The time off each state requires private employers to give: paid sick leave or paid leave for any reason, city and county sick leave laws, family and medical leave beyond the federal FMLA, whether unused vacation must be paid out when a job ends, and the shorter leave laws for jury duty, voting, military service, victims of violence and more. From each state's statutes and labor department. The paid family leave insurance programs and their contribution rates are on the paid leave page.

Federal rules that apply in every state

No federal law requires a private employer to give paid sick leave, paid vacation or paid holidays. Federal law requires unpaid, job-protected leave in a few cases: the Family and Medical Leave Act at employers with 50 or more employees, military service, and leave as a pregnancy accommodation. Federal contractors on covered contracts must give paid sick leave. State laws add to these, and the stricter rule applies.

No federal paid leave requirement

The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or holidays; the Department of Labor calls these matters of agreement between an employer and an employee. There are no federal legal requirements for paid sick leave for private employers. source Public record

Family and Medical Leave Act (unpaid, job-protected)

Private employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or previous calendar year must give eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for the FMLA's reasons, and up to 26 workweeks of military caregiver leave. An employee is eligible after 12 months with the employer and 1,250 hours of service in the 12 months before the leave, at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles. Paid leave may often be substituted for unpaid FMLA leave. source Public record

Federal contractors: paid sick leave (Executive Order 13706)

Executive Order 13706, signed September 7, 2015, requires parties to covered contracts with the federal government to give covered employees up to seven days of paid sick leave a year, including leave for family care. The Department of Labor's rule (published September 30, 2016) sets which contracts and employees are covered and how the leave accrues. source Public record

Military service (USERRA)

An employee who leaves a job for service in the uniformed services has the right to be reemployed if the cumulative length of absences for service with that employer does not exceed five years (with exceptions), and the employee reports back or applies on time. source Public record

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (leave as an accommodation)

Private employers with 15 or more employees must give reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions, and leave can be one, unless it causes undue hardship. An employer may not require an employee to take leave if another accommodation would let the employee keep working. source Public record

Federal jury service

No employer may discharge, threaten, intimidate or coerce a permanent employee because of jury service in a federal court (28 U.S.C. 1875). The law does not require paying the employee for that time. source Public record

Recent and coming changes

• Virginia Dec 1, 2028 Job protection (restoration and continued health benefits) for employees with 120 days of service who receive Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program benefits, which start December 1, 2028 (2026 Acts chapters 981 and 1093). enacted source Public record
• Maryland Jan 1, 2028 FAMLI benefits begin: covered employees may take up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave and must be restored to an equivalent position afterward (section 8.3-706). enacted source Public record
• Virginia Jul 1, 2027 Paid sick leave for most employees (new Article 2.1:1, Va. Code 40.1-33.6:1 to 40.1-33.6:7; HB 5 and SB 199, 2026 Acts chapters 1128 and 1129, signed May 20, 2026). Employers of at least 50 employees from July 1, 2027, at least 25 from January 1, 2028 and at least 1 from January 1, 2029, including the Commonwealth and localities. 1 hour per 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours accrued or used a year unless the employer sets more; carryover; front-loading 40 hours satisfies accrual; adds absences for domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking; minimum use increment no more than 4 hours. No payout at separation, but the balance is reinstated on rehire within 12 months unless paid out. Excludes the home health workers covered by Article 2.1, railroad employers and employees under 45 U.S.C. 351, as-needed (pro re nata) licensed health care workers at licensed facilities, and certain licensed part-time health workers; delayed for some Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act bargaining units until their agreement expires or December 31, 2030. Written notice, posting and 3-year records under Department of Labor and Industry regulations; knowing violations carry civil penalties up to $150, $300 and $500, and employees may sue for twice the unpaid leave and twice actual damages. enacted source Public record
• Connecticut Jan 1, 2027 Paid sick leave extends to employers with 1 or more employees in the state (Public Act 24-8) enacted source Public record
• Illinois Jan 1, 2027 Public Act 104-683 (HB 4844): employers with more than 25 employees must pay the regular rate for time an employee serves on jury duty. enacted source Public record
• Illinois Jan 1, 2027 Public Act 104-581 (HB 1353) expands the Volunteer Emergency Worker Job Protection Act to bar terminating or penalizing a volunteer for required training as well as emergency response. enacted source Public record
• Washington Jan 1, 2027 Job protection extends to employers with 15 or more employees. enacted source Public record
• District of Columbia Oct 1, 2026 DC Paid Family Leave benefit weeks were cut by the FY 2027 Budget Support Act: Medical Leave from 12 to 10 weeks and Family Leave from 12 to 6 weeks (Parental and Prenatal Leave unchanged). DCFMLA job-protected leave is unchanged. in effect source Public record
• Florida Sep 30, 2026 Ch. 2024-80 (CS/CS/HB 433), approved April 11, 2024, amended s. 218.077 effective September 30, 2026 to remove the exception that let a political subdivision require benefits for employees of its contractors and subcontractors under its contracts (contracts entered into before that date are not impaired), and, from July 1, 2024, created s. 448.077 preempting local regulation of private employer scheduling. in effect source Public record
• New Jersey Jul 17, 2026 P.L.2025, c.279: job protection for workers receiving Temporary Disability or Family Leave Insurance benefits at any employer size, and the Family Leave Act threshold cut from 30 to 15 employees, with eligibility cut from 12 months and 1,000 hours to 3 months and 250 hours in effect source Public record
• Minnesota Jul 6, 2026 Department of Labor and Industry ESST rules (Minnesota Rules chapter 5200) took effect. in effect source Public record
• Hawaii Jul 1, 2026 Act 13 (2026) expands the Hawaii Family Leave Law to allow family leave for a qualifying military exigency involving the employee's child, spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, sibling, grandchild or parent serving in the U.S. Armed Forces (DLIR announcement of June 4, 2026: the law takes effect July 1). in effect source Public record
• Pennsylvania Jul 1, 2026 Philadelphia's paid sick time rate for tipped workers at employers with 10 or more employees is $17.88 an hour, set by the Office of Worker Protections from tipped wage data, through June 30, 2027. in effect source Public record
• Illinois Jun 1, 2026 Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act (Public Act 104-259): 10 or 20 days of unpaid leave while a child is in a NICU. in effect source Public record
• Tennessee Mar 6, 2026 Public Chapter 552 (SB 674 / HB 900, 2026) added Tenn. Code 7-51-1802(g): the General Assembly preempts and occupies the entire field of regulating the terms and conditions of employment, and local governments may not require terms or conditions of employment beyond state or federal law. in effect source Public record
• New York Feb 22, 2026 New York City Local Law 145 of 2025 (Int. 780-A, enacted October 25, 2025, returned unsigned by the Mayor): 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick time on hire and each January 1, and new uses (care for a child or care recipient, legal proceedings for benefits or housing, public disaster, workplace violence), replacing the two days under the Temporary Schedule Change Act in effect source Public record
• California Jan 1, 2026 Crime victims and their family members may take time off, and use paid sick leave, to attend certain court proceedings (delinquency, release, plea, sentencing and postconviction proceedings); the protections moved from Labor Code 230.2 and 230.5 to Government Code 12945.8. in effect source Public record
• Connecticut Jan 1, 2026 Paid sick leave covers employers with 11 or more employees in the state (Public Act 24-8) in effect source Public record
• Delaware Jan 1, 2026 Delaware Paid Leave benefits began, and with them the job protection and health benefit continuation in 19 Del. C. 3707 for covered individuals taking leave. in effect source Public record
• Illinois Jan 1, 2026 Public Act 104-193 amended the paid blood and organ donation leave section; the current text includes part-time employees for organ donation leave. in effect source Public record
• Maine Jan 1, 2026 Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits program established, with job restoration after leave for employees employed at least 120 days (P.L. 2023, c. 412, Pt. AAA). in effect source Public record
• Minnesota Jan 1, 2026 Minnesota Paid Leave benefits and job protections began (premiums and benefits are on the site's paid leave page). in effect source Public record
• New Hampshire Jan 1, 2026 RSA 275:37-f: employers with 20 or more employees must allow up to 25 hours of unpaid leave for childbirth, postpartum care and infant pediatric medical appointments in the child's first year (2025, 141:263). in effect source Public record
• New Hampshire Jan 1, 2026 RSA 110-C:1-a: employment protection and unpaid leave with reemployment rights for spouses of involuntarily mobilized service members, at employers with 50 or more employees at one New Hampshire location (2025, 172:1). in effect source Public record
• Pennsylvania Jan 1, 2026 Pittsburgh Ordinance No. 11-2025 raised sick leave accrual to 1 hour per 30 hours worked and the yearly caps to 72 hours (15 or more employees) and 48 hours (fewer than 15). in effect source Public record
• Rhode Island Jan 1, 2026 Temporary Caregiver Insurance rises to a maximum of 8 weeks in a benefit year, adds care for a sibling, and covers bone marrow and living organ donors (P.L. 2025, ch. 235, 237, 380 and 386). in effect source Public record
• Washington Jan 1, 2026 2025 c 304 phases in Paid Family and Medical Leave job protection by employer size: 25 or more employees in 2026, 15 or more in 2027, 8 or more from January 1, 2028, for employees with 180 days of employment. in effect source Public record
• Washington Jan 1, 2026 2025 c 375 added hate crimes to the Domestic Violence Leave Act. in effect source Public record
• Minnesota Nov 16, 2025 St. Paul's ESST ordinance updated to align with the state law, adding harassment as a safe time reason and funeral or memorial use. in effect source Public record
• Utah Nov 6, 2025 The county ban on requiring private employers to offer sick leave, family medical leave and other employee benefits was renumbered and amended as Utah Code 17-60-507 by the 2025 First Special Session, chapter 13. The prior section number was not confirmed. in effect source Public record
• Michigan Oct 1, 2025 Small businesses (10 or fewer employees) began accrual of paid earned sick time, up to 40 hours of use a year. in effect source Public record
• Montana Oct 1, 2025 New protection for volunteer emergency services providers (39-2-308, MCA, enacted as Ch. 135, Laws of 2025): employees already serving had to give written notice within 30 days of October 1, 2025. in effect source Public record
• Nebraska Oct 1, 2025 Initiative 436 (Initiative Law 2024, No. 436), approved by voters in 2024, enacted the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, including a section letting an employee sue for violations. Paid sick time requirements began October 1, 2025. in effect source Public record
• Alaska Sep 25, 2025 Department regulations on paid sick leave took effect: employer size by full-time equivalents, accrual year, front-loading, PTO policies, voluntary cash-out, advance notice, verification, written notice, and sick leave used and balance on pay statements (8 AAC 15.106 to 15.119, 15.160(h)). in effect source Public record
• Missouri Aug 28, 2025 H.B. 567 (HCS No. 2 for H.B. Nos. 567, 546, 758 and 958), signed by Governor Kehoe on July 10, 2025, repealed sections 290.600 to 290.642, ending the paid sick time requirement effective August 28, 2025. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations says employers may continue to offer earned paid sick time after that date but are no longer required to. The same bill removed Proposition A's minimum wage cost of living adjustment from 2027. in effect source Public record
• Colorado Aug 6, 2025 SB 25-144 extends FAMLI paid family and medical leave by up to 12 more weeks for a parent whose child is receiving inpatient care in a neonatal intensive care unit (the act also set the 2026 premium). The act's own text and the NICU provision's start date were not read. in effect source Public record
• Illinois Aug 1, 2025 Public Act 104-78 added paid leave for military funeral honors details at employers with 51 or more employees. in effect source Public record
• New York Jul 31, 2025 The COVID-19 quarantine leave law expired and was deemed repealed repealed source Public record
• Washington Jul 27, 2025 ESHB 1875 (2025 c 170) lets employees use paid sick leave to prepare for or take part in judicial or administrative immigration proceedings involving the employee or a family member. in effect source Public record
• Hawaii Jul 19, 2025 Hawaii Civil Rights Commission rule 12-46-108 on pregnancy, childbirth and related leave was amended (history note: am 7/19/25). in effect source Public record
• Alaska Jul 1, 2025 Paid sick leave under 2024 Ballot Measure 1 (AS 23.10.066 to 23.10.069) took effect; employers had to give the written notice at hire or within 30 days of the effective date. in effect source Public record
• Vermont Jul 1, 2025 Act 32 of 2025 (H.461) expanded the Parental and Family Leave Act: a broader family member definition, coverage of airline flight crew, parental leave for recovery from childbirth or miscarriage and for foster children, up to 12 weeks of safe leave, up to 2 weeks of bereavement leave (no more than 5 consecutive workdays), and qualifying exigency leave. in effect source Public record
• Louisiana Jun 4, 2025 Acts 2025, No. 53 amended R.S. 23:1017.1, the definitions for the volunteer first responder leave law (R.S. 23:1017.1 to 1017.6). in effect source Public record
• Tennessee May 12, 2025 Public Chapter 471 (HB 910 / SB 861, 2025) terminated the Tennessee Human Rights Commission on July 1, 2025, moved its employment discrimination duties to the Attorney General's new civil rights enforcement division, and rewrote Title 4, Chapter 21, Part 4, restating the parental leave law (4-21-408). in effect source Public record
• Missouri May 1, 2025 Proposition A, adopted by initiative on November 5, 2024, enacted earned paid sick time (RSMo 290.600 to 290.642): one hour per 30 hours worked, with use capped at 56 hours a year at employers with 15 or more employees and 40 hours at smaller employers, carryover of up to 80 hours, and accrual beginning at the start of employment or May 1, 2025, whichever was later. Retail or service businesses with annual gross sales under $500,000 and public employers were not covered. repealed source Public record
• Ohio Mar 20, 2025 R.C. 5903.02 (reinstatement after uniformed or militia service) was amended by Senate Bill 154 of the 135th General Assembly; what the amendment changed was not reviewed. in effect source Public record
• Michigan Feb 21, 2025 The Earned Sick Time Act as originally adopted in 2018 took effect, as ordered by the Michigan Supreme Court in Mothering Justice v Attorney General, and was amended the same day by 2025 PA 2, which added the 120-day waiting period, the small business schedule and other changes. in effect source Public record
• California Jan 1, 2025 Leave and protections for victims of violence moved from Labor Code 230 and 230.1 to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (Government Code 12945.8), enforced by the Civil Rights Department, and were extended to family members of victims; paid sick leave may be used for jury duty and witness appearances, and outdoor agricultural employees may use it to avoid smoke, heat or flooding during declared emergencies. in effect source Public record
• Connecticut Jan 1, 2025 Public Act 24-8 took effect: coverage of all employees instead of service workers, accrual changed from 1 hour per 40 to 1 hour per 30 hours, documentation ban, 25-employee threshold in effect source Public record
• New York Jan 1, 2025 Paid prenatal leave: 20 hours a year added to Labor Law 196-b in effect source Public record
• Rhode Island Jan 1, 2025 Temporary Caregiver Insurance maximum raised to 7 weeks in a benefit year (P.L. 2024, ch. 332 and 333). in effect source Public record
• Washington Jan 1, 2025 2024 c 356 amended RCW 49.46.210 effective January 1, 2025 (the content of that change was not read). in effect source Public record
• Massachusetts Nov 21, 2024 Earned sick time may be used for the employee's or spouse's physical and mental health needs after pregnancy loss or a failed assisted reproduction, adoption or surrogacy (M.G.L. c. 149, s. 148C(c)(5)). in effect source Public record
• New Hampshire Aug 13, 2024 RSA 275:41-e: employers may not discharge or discipline a volunteer firefighter or EMT for being late to work after responding to an emergency met on the way (2024, 45:1). in effect source Public record
• Illinois Jul 1, 2024 Chicago's Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance took effect, with 40 hours of paid leave and 40 hours of paid sick leave. in effect source Public record
• California Jan 1, 2024 SB 616 raised the paid sick leave use minimum from 24 hours or three days to 40 hours or five days a year and the accrual cap from 48 hours or six days to 80 hours or ten days, and barred local ordinances from contradicting state rules on lending, pay stubs, pay calculation, notice, timing of payment and payment at termination. in effect source Public record
• Illinois Jan 1, 2024 Paid Leave for All Workers Act took effect: 40 hours of paid leave for any reason at employers of every size not covered by a local ordinance. in effect source Public record
• Minnesota Jan 1, 2024 Statewide earned sick and safe time took effect for all employers. in effect source Public record
• Rhode Island Jan 1, 2024 Juneteenth National Freedom Day added to the holidays on which work must be paid at 1.5 times the normal rate (P.L. 2023, ch. 81 and 82). in effect source Public record
• Alaska HB 193 (CSHB 193(FIN) am), which would limit the paid sick leave requirement to employers with 10 or more employees at up to 56 hours a year, let an employer allow an employee to cash out accrued sick leave at the employee's request, and create a paid parental leave program, passed the House 36 to 4 on May 16, 2026. Its last action was in the Senate (Rules Committee) on May 20, 2026; it has not passed the Senate and is not law. passed one chamber source Public record
• Indiana New IC 22-2-20 (P.L.109-2025) protects employees who miss work to attend a child's school attendance conference or case conference committee meeting; the chapter expires July 1, 2029. Its effective date was not read in a primary source. in effect source Public record
• Maine Earned paid leave carryover amended (LD 55, P.L. 2025, c. 438): hours carried forward from the previous year may not reduce the hours an employee can earn in the next year, up to 40 hours or the employer's higher policy limit. The Department of Labor held a listening session on June 29, 2026 ahead of formal rulemaking on the change. in effect source Public record
• Minnesota ESST amended by Laws 2025, First Special Session chapter 6, article 5 (sections 181.9447 and 181.9448); the effective date and details were not read in the session law. in effect source Public record
• Minnesota Bloomington's earned sick and safe time ordinance was repealed; employees there are covered by the state law and file complaints with the state. repealed source Public record
• Nebraska LB415, approved by the Governor June 4, 2025, changed the act before its requirements began: as amended it covers only employers with 11 or more employees, excludes seasonal or temporary agricultural workers and individuals under 16, and struck the employee's right to sue, leaving enforcement to Department of Labor citations and administrative penalties. Its effective date follows the constitutional rule of three calendar months after the session adjourned; the exact date was not confirmed. in effect source Public record
• Oregon Oregon Laws 2025, chapters 85 and 243 amended the allowable uses of sick time (ORS 653.616); BOLI's guidance now lists blood donation as a use. Chapter 85 also amended OFLA eligibility and Paid Leave Oregon job protection. Effective dates were not read. in effect source Public record
• Virginia Sections 40.1-33.6:1 and 40.1-33.6:3 of the 2026 sick leave law also cite 2026 Special Session I, chapter 1; a Governor's amendment to that session's budget bill (HB 30) describes several changes to chapters 1128 and 1129. enacted source Public record

Every state

Paid leave for any reason: State law requires paid leave the employee may use for any reason. Paid sick leave: State law requires paid sick leave for at least some private employers. Local laws only: No statewide requirement, but at least one city or county requires paid sick leave. No paid sick leave law: No state or local paid sick leave requirement was found.

Other leave laws

Shorter leave each state requires private employers to give, and whether the time is paid. A blank means no state statute requiring that leave was found. Open a state for who is covered and how long.

Informational only, not legal advice. Leave laws change often, a city or county can add its own, and a union contract or company policy can give more; check the statute and the labor department before setting a policy.