Paid Sick Leave Updates

There have been quite a few updates to paid sick leave laws recently, with some changes to established laws and some new laws – you could say paid sick leave is “trending”! While The Larkin Company doesn’t administer paid sick leave, we want to make sure you are aware of all the updates.

Alaska

The majority of residents in the Land of the Midnight Sun voted in favor of Alaska Ballot Measure No. 1, a law that will create statewide paid sick leave requirements effective July 1, 2025. As of that date, employees will accrue a minimum of 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a prescribed maximum unless their employer sets a higher limit. There are different maximums based on employer size.

Accrual Requirements:

• Small employers with less than 15 employees: Employees are entitled to accrue or use 40 hours of paid sick leave per year.
• Large employers with 15 or more employees: Employees are entitled to accrue or use 56 hours of paid sick leave per year.
• Employees exempt from overtime requirements are assumed to work 40 hours in each work week for the purposes of accrual. If their normal work week is less than 40 hours, accrual shall be based upon that normal work week.

Paid sick leave can carry over to the following year, but the employee is still limited to the applicable maximums listed above. Additionally, an employer’s own paid leave or paid time off policy may be in compliance with this law if it provides an amount sufficient to the required maximums, and can be used for the same purposes and conditions as this new paid sick leave.

Uses of Accrued Paid Sick Leave:

• An employee’s own health; need for diagnosis, care, treatment, or preventative medical care; or
• Care or assistance for a family member for the same reasons above.
• Absences will also be covered if necessary due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, provided it is used for the employee to obtain for themselves or a family member medical or psychological attention, victim’s aid services, relocation, legal services, or participation in an investigation or civil or criminal proceedings.
• Paid sick leave can be used in the smaller of hourly increments or the smallest increment the employer’s payroll system uses to account for absences.

Covered Family Members:

• Immediate family; a domestic partner; foster child, legal ward, or person to whom an employee stands in loco parentis; a foster parent, adoptive parent, legal guardian, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child; or any other individual related by blood or whose close association is the equivalent of a family relationship

Notice and Documentation Requirements:

• If the need for paid sick leave is foreseeable, advance notice should be provided by the employee in a good faith effort to not unduly disrupt the employer’s operations.
• An employer may require documentation substantiating the need for leave should an employee require more than three consecutive workdays.
  • This documentation can be signed by a health care professional indicating that the need for paid sick leave was/is necessary. An employer is not able to require details of the illness or underlying health needs.
  • In cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, reasonable documentation includes, but is not limited to, a police report, court documents indicating legal action, or a written statement from the employee.
• Employers are required to provide employees with written notice of their right to paid sick leave, the amount, and its use by a date that is the later of their date of hire or within 30 days of the effective date (July 1, 2025).

Missouri

The state has approved Proposition A, mandating sick leave for all Missouri employees beginning May 1, 2025. Employees are entitled to accrue a minimum of one hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, and are entitled to use up to 40 or 56 total hours of usage per year, depending on their employer size, unless their employer sets a higher limit.

Accrual Requirements:

• Small employers with less than 15 employees: Employees are entitled to use up to 40 hours of earned paid sick time per year.
• Large employers with 15 or more employees: Employees are entitled to use up to 56 hours of earned paid sick time per year.
• Employees that are exempt from overtime will be assumed to work 40 hours for the purposes of calculating accrual. If their normal work week is less than 40 hours, accrual shall be based upon that normal work week.

Up to 80 hours of paid sick time can carry over to the following year, however, employers are not required to allow employees to use more than the applicable amount of hours detailed above in one year. In lieu of allowing carryover of unused time, employers have the option to payout the amount of unused paid sick time at the end of the year, and provide employees with a fresh balance of leave that meets the requirements above at the start of the year for immediate use. Additionally, employers may loan paid sick time to an employee in advance of the accrual. An employer’s own paid leave or paid time off policy may be in compliance with this law if it provides an amount sufficient to the required maximums, and can be used for the same purposes and conditions as the paid sick time under this new law.

Uses of Accrued Paid Sick Leave:

• For the employee’s own or their family member’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; need for diagnosis, care, or treatment of such; or need for preventative medical care.
• The closure of employee’s place of business due to a public health emergency or the employee’s need to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by a public health emergency; care for the employee or their family member when it is determined by health authorities or their health care provider that the employee or their family member’s presence in the community may jeopardize the health of others due to exposure to a communicable disease, whether or not they have actually contracted the communicable disease.
• If the absence is due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking of the employee or their family member, then for medical attention to recover from injury or disability caused by such; services from a victim services organization; counseling; relocation; or legal services.
• Use of paid sick time can be in the smaller of hourly increments, or the smallest increment the employer’s payroll system uses to account for absences.

Covered Family Members:

• Child – whether biological, adopted, foster, step, legal ward, child of a domestic partner, of whom the employee stands in loco parentis
• Parent – whether biological, foster, step, adoptive, or legal guardian of the employee, their spouse or domestic partner, or whom stood in loco parentis to the employee or their spouse or domestic partner
• An individual whom the employee is legally married to, a registered domestic partner, or an individual whom the employee is in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature
• Grandparent, grandchild, or sibling (whether biological, foster, adoptive, or step) of the employee or their spouse or domestic partner
• A person whom the employee is responsible for providing or arranging health or safety-related care

Notice and Documentation Requirements:

• Employee requests to utilize paid sick time can be made orally or in writing, and should include the expected duration of the absence.
• If the need for paid sick time is foreseeable, the employee should show a good faith effort to provide notice in advance, in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.
• If the need for paid sick time is unforeseeable, the employee can provide notice as soon as practicable if required by the employer.
  • Where an employer requires notice when the need is not foreseeable, they must have a written policy detailing the procedures on how the employee should provide notice. Employees cannot be denied paid sick time if their employer has not provided the employee a copy of such written policy.
  • Required documentation from an employee can be a document signed by a health care professional indicating that paid sick leave is necessary, or in cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, the following shall be considered reasonable: a police report; written statement from employee or a victim service provider affirming they are or was receiving services; a document signed by a health care provider whose assistance was sought; court documents; written statement from employee or from their family member affirming they are taking or took the time for qualifying reasons.
  • An employer cannot require documentation to explain the nature or details of the illness, health needs, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
• If utilizing paid sick time, employees are not required to search for or find a replacement to cover their hours as a condition of taking earned paid sick time.
• Employers shall give written notice to employees by the later of 14 calendar days of hire, or on April 15, 2025. The department may develop model notices and posters for this purpose.

Nebraska

Nebraska has approved Initiative 436, adopting the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, requiring all employers to provide paid sick time to employees beginning October 1, 2025. Eligible employees have the right to earn paid sick time for personal or family health needs. You may review the full text here, and we have a detailed summary below.

This new law applies to all employees who have worked at least 80 hours in Nebraska during a 12-month calendar year. The only exceptions are those who are subject to the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, and employees who are employed by federal or state government, state agencies, state departments, and political subdivisions. Employers with fewer than 20 employees are required to provide up to 40 hours of earned paid sick time per year, and those who employ more than 20 employees must provide up to 56 hours of earned paid sick time per year. Employees shall accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours or 56 hours depending on the employer size. Exempt employees shall be assumed to work 40 hours each workweek for the purposes of paid sick time accrual, unless their typical workweek is less than 40 hours. Accrual of paid sick time shall begin as of October 1, 2025, or upon hire, whichever is later.

Employers may choose to provide paid sick time by frontloading an employee’s anticipated annual accrual at the beginning of the year, or they may provide it on an accrual basis. Any accrued sick time may carry over to the following year, however, employers have the option to pay out an employee’s unused paid sick time at the end of a year so long as the employer provides the employee with an amount of paid sick time that meets or exceeds the requirements of the statute at the beginning of the subsequent year for the employee’s immediate use. Employees are also entitled to their accrued paid sick time in the event of a transfer or commencement of re-employment (within 12 months of separation and rehire).

Uses of Accrued Paid Sick Time:

• An employee’s own mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition including diagnosis, care, or treatment of the illness, injury or health condition; need for preventive medical care.
• Care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition including diagnosis, care, or treatment of the illness, injury or health condition; care of a family member who needs preventive medical care.
• Closure of the employee’s place of business, or closure of a school or child’s place of care due to a public health emergency.
• Employee’s or family member’s need to isolate due to exposure to a communicable disease.

Paid sick time may be in the smaller of hourly increments, or the smallest increment used in the employer’s payroll system used to account for absences or other use of time.

Notices and Documentation Requirements:

• For paid sick time usage beyond 3 consecutive days, an employer may require reasonable documentation to confirm the purpose of sick leave is covered by the reasons listed above. Reasonable documentation includes:
  • Documentation signed by a health care professional confirming the need for sick leave.
  • If the employee or their family member did not receive services from a healthcare professional or they are unable to provide documentation, the employee may provide a written statement confirming the use of paid sick leave was due to a qualifying reason.
• Written notice of employee’s rights under the Nebraska Families and Workplace Act must be provided to employees and posted no later than September 15, 2025. The department will create the required workplace poster and will make this available to all employers.

We will continue to monitor any changes to this new law and will provide any updates as information becomes available.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Earlier this year, Pittsburgh amended some rules to the city’s Paid Sick Days Act to clarify employee rights and employer obligations under the Act. As a reminder, covered employees are individuals who perform work within the geographic boundaries of the City of Pittsburgh for at least 35 hours in a calendar year. This excludes independent contractors, state or federal employees, members of a construction union covered by a collective bargaining unit, and seasonal employees. Below is a summary of the changes and you may read the full guidelines here.

Accrual Requirements:

Employers must provide paid sick leave hours based on the size of the organization.

• Covered employers with 15 or more employees must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick time.
• Covered employers with fewer than 15 employees must provide up to 24 hours of unpaid sick time.
• The accrual rate for all covered employers is minimum 1 hour sick time accrual for every 35 hours worked.

When calculating the number of employees, employers should use the highest number of workers employed at any one time in the preceding year, including part-time employees and those who are not considered covered employees. Any unused sick time shall be carried over to the next calendar year up to the applicable accrual cap for an employee. Alternatively, employers may choose to front load sick time so long as employees are provided with the minimum number of paid sick time mandated by the act at the beginning of the calendar year.

Sick Time Usage and Notices:

• The rules further clarify that employers must continue to allow employees to use any previously earned sick time after transferring to a separate entity, division, or location within the city.
• It is recommended for employers to maintain a reasonable system for providing notification of accrued sick time such as including the updated amounts of available sick time on pay stubs or in an online system where employees can regularly access the information.
• Employers must display the notice of rights under the Act at each worksite that includes information on available limits and terms of use. The notice must also include information about retaliation against sick time usage and the right to file a complaint.

For a more detailed description of sick time usage, notices, and documentation, please refer to the full guidelines.

Washington

The Evergreen state has recently adopted a bill to amend the state’s paid sick leave law and clarify that covered reasons of paid sick leave for transportation network company drivers will include child-care closures due to public emergencies, effective January 1, 2025. You may read the entire amended section here.