Paid Sick Leave Policy template

2. How sick time is earned

Choose one of the two structures below and delete the other. Both are common, and state laws generally allow either — as long as the totals meet the mandate where each employee works.

• Accrual: employees earn [number] hour(s) of paid sick leave for every [number] hours worked, starting [on the first day of employment], up to [number] hours per year. [State laws set minimum accrual rates and may limit any waiting period before use — take the figures from your state labor department.]
• Up-front grant: employees receive [number] hours of paid sick leave at the start of each [calendar year / benefit year], available immediately, prorated [method] for mid-year starters. [Frontloading can simplify or remove carryover obligations in some states — confirm before relying on that.]
• Sick time is paid at [the employee's regular rate of pay / describe the calculation for commission, piece-rate, and variable-hour staff — several state laws prescribe how the rate must be worked out].
• Current balances appear in [payroll system / on pay stubs] — some states require the available balance to be shown on or with each pay statement.

3. What sick leave can be used for

Employees may use sick leave for the purposes below. State laws set the minimum list, and several go further — where the law where an employee works covers more reasons or more family members than this policy, the law applies.

• The employee's own illness, injury, or health condition — including diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and preventive care such as medical, dental, and optical appointments.
• Caring for a family member with any of the above. Family means [spouse or domestic partner; child; parent; sibling; grandparent; grandchild; a member of the employee's household] — state laws define family for sick-leave purposes, often broadly, so use at least your state's definition.
• Safe time: absences arising from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking affecting the employee [or a family member] — such as medical care, counseling, relocation, or legal proceedings. Many state sick-leave laws include these reasons, and the federal contractor rules do too.
• [Closure of the workplace, or of the employee's child's school or place of care, by order of a public official during a public-health emergency — include where your state's law covers it.]
• Sick leave is for the purposes above — it is not extra vacation. Patterns that suggest misuse are handled through [the attendance policy], but never by blocking or punishing legitimate protected use.

4. Requesting and using sick leave

1. 1For unforeseeable illness, tell [your manager / the duty manager] via [phone/system] as soon as practical — state laws limit how much notice an employer can demand when the need could not be foreseen.
2. 2For foreseeable appointments and planned treatment, request the time in advance through [system], and try to schedule where work disruption is lowest — try, not must.
3. 3Sick leave may be used in increments of [number] hour(s) — several state laws cap the minimum increment an employer may impose, so set this from your state's rules.
4. 4Documentation: {{org.name}} does not ask for documentation for absences of [number] consecutive days or fewer. For longer absences, [acceptable documentation, e.g. a provider's note confirming the absence]. A diagnosis is never required. Several state laws restrict when documentation can be demanded — set this threshold from the law where you operate, not from habit.
5. 5Record the absence against sick leave in [system] on your return, or ask your manager to record it for you.

5. Carryover, caps, and leaving the company

• Unused sick leave carries over to the next year up to [number] hours. [Total accrual may be capped at [number] hours, and use may be capped at [number] hours per year — state laws set minimums for all three figures, so fill them from your state, not another template.]
• {{org.name}} [does / does not] pay out unused sick leave when employment ends. Many state sick-leave laws do not require payout on separation — sick time is commonly treated differently from vacation — but a combined PTO bank can change the answer, so confirm with your state before finalizing this clause.
• [Some states require unused balances to be reinstated if an employee is rehired within a set period — check your state's rule and state yours here.]

6. State and local compliance

{{org.name}} complies with the paid-sick-leave law of every state and locality where it has employees, and where a mandate exceeds this policy, the mandate applies. States that currently require paid sick leave include California, New York, Washington, and Colorado; Illinois requires paid leave usable for any reason, sickness included; and a growing number of cities and counties layer local ordinances on top. Each law has its own accrual rate, caps, covered-employer thresholds, family definitions, notice rules, and documentation limits — this policy deliberately quotes none of them.

[HR/name/role] keeps a compliance note for every work location — including remote employees' home states — recording the applicable law, the figures that fill this policy's brackets, and any required postings and employee notices, and refreshes it [annually] and whenever a state labor department announces changes. The bracketed numbers in this policy are always set from those official sources, never copied from another state or another year.

7. No retaliation

No one at {{org.name}} will be disciplined, demoted, denied hours or shifts, or otherwise treated adversely for requesting or using sick leave under this policy or under any applicable law. State sick-leave laws prohibit retaliation — and this policy applies the same rule in every state, mandate or not. Sick leave used for a protected purpose never counts as an occurrence under [the attendance policy].

An employee who believes they have been retaliated against should report it to [HR/name], or through any channel in [the employee complaint policy]. Reports are investigated promptly, and employees always retain the right to complain to their state labor department.

8. Interaction with other leave and benefits

• Vacation and PTO: sick leave at {{org.name}} is [a separate bank / part of a combined PTO bank]. If combined, the bank must satisfy the sick-leave law's rules on accrual, permitted uses, carryover, and documentation for the sick portion — see [the PTO policy].
• Extended illness: absences that outlast sick balances may qualify for unpaid, job-protected leave under the FMLA where it applies, for [short-term disability benefits], or for a state paid family and medical leave program — see [the FMLA and family leave policy] and route these to [HR/name] early.
• Disability: where a condition is also a disability, the ADA may require leave or schedule changes as a reasonable accommodation beyond anything in this policy — exhausted sick balances do not end that conversation.
• Work-related injury or illness is handled under workers' compensation; time off after a death is covered by [the bereavement leave policy].

9. Records and review

Sick-leave accruals, use, and balances are recorded in [payroll system] and retained for [period] — several state laws set minimum retention periods for sick-leave records. This policy is reviewed [frequency, e.g. annually], and immediately whenever a state or locality where {{org.name}} operates changes its rules. Owner: [name/role]. Next review due: [date].