Sick leave laws by state

Tracking sick time off in Gusto

Set up a sick time off policy or emergency sick pay policy so you can keep track of time off taken by your employees and pay your team for sick hours when you run payroll. You can set up multiple types of policies to apply to different groups of employees if needed. 

Policy options include:

Employer requirements for paid time off balances

Some states, like California, require employers to give their employees updated reports of their unused time off. You can meet this requirement by running a time off balances report.

You can also give your employees access to Gusto and give them these instructions for how they can locate this information themselves.

State and local resources

If you have questions about a sick leave ordinance for a particular state or city, contact the applicable local authority or review the ordinance online.

Below is a list of some states and cities that have passed sick leave ordinances, including links to the specific ordinances or other resources. If you operate in a city or state that requires sick leave and is missing from the list, let us know.

State City/State Agency Resources
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
  • State of Colorado
  • Poster: Paid leave, whistleblowing, and protective equipment
  • Which employers: All employers
  • Type: Paid sick leave
  • Accrual: one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked
  • Maximum: 48 hours per year
  • Carryover: Yes, may carry forward and use in subsequent calendar years up to 48 hours of paid sick leave that is not used in the year in which it is accrued
  • Accruing begins: when employment begins
  • Usage: may use paid sick leave as it is accrued
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Illinois
Maine
  • State of Maine
    • First state to offer paid leave—not specific to sick time.
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Montana
  • Montana
    • Department of Labor and Industry FAQs
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York

 

North Carolina
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
  • State of Washington
    • At a minimum, you must provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked by an employee, regardless of full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal status. If a local ordinance requires more generous paid sick leave benefits for employees than state law, those requirements will apply.
  • Seattle
  • SeaTac
  • Tacoma 
West Virginia