Paid sick leave laws by state

On the official pages we checked, 21 jurisdictions have a statewide rule in effect or phasing in: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Virginia has a narrower rule (home health workers, in the Code as published). Missouri repealed its law, effective August 28, 2025. The labor agencies of Hawaii, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia say no state law requires it.

Most states use 1 hour for every 30 hours worked (14 of them, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado and Connecticut). The others: District of Columbia (1 per 37–87); Illinois (1 per 40); Maine (1 per 40); Nevada (1 per 52); Rhode Island (1 per 35); Vermont (1 per 52); Washington (1 per 40). The calculator turns any of these into hours by date.

It depends on the state. Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island let smaller employers provide the time unpaid. Some cover only larger employers (Maine more than 10 employees, Nebraska 11 or more, Nevada 50 or more), Connecticut reaches employers with a single employee on January 1, 2027, and Alaska, Arizona, Michigan, New York and DC set smaller amounts or slower rates for smaller employers.

Alaska's ballot-measure law took effect July 1, 2025. Michigan's amended law took effect February 21, 2025, and reached small businesses October 1, 2025. Missouri employers stopped being required to provide paid sick time on August 28, 2025. Nebraska's law took effect October 1, 2025. Connecticut covered employers with 11 or more employees on January 1, 2026 and covers employers with 1 or more on January 1, 2027. Reported changes we could not confirm on an official page are flagged on the Alaska and Virginia rows.

In most of these states, yes. The official pages we read cover family care almost everywhere, and 15 name leave related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking (often called safe time). Illinois, Maine and Nevada go further: the leave can be used for any reason.

We fill in a rule only after reading it on a state labor agency or statute page. 21 states show "Not confirmed" because no official page we opened said whether a statewide requirement exists; that is not a statement that a law exists or doesn't. Local ordinances are marked where an official page names one (California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington); we link the page rather than list every city.

Where state law allows it, yes: official pages note local ordinances in California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington. Some states bar it. The statutes we read in Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, South Carolina and Wisconsin stop cities and counties from requiring employers to provide sick leave or similar leave; the Local laws column links each one. For other states we only mark what an official page says.