Continued Expansion of Sick and Paid Time Off Laws Across the Country

Continued Expansion of Sick and Paid Time Off Laws Across the Country

For years, companies have maintained paid sick and vacation time-off programs for their regular full-time middle/high wage workforces in order to stay competitive in attracting these employees.  Low wage or temporary/freelance workers, however, have historically been excluded from this benefit.  Since there is no federal sick or other paid time off law, various states and localities have enacted a patchwork of legislation in pockets of the country.  While San Francisco was the first city in 2006 and Connecticut the first state in 2012 to pass paid sick time laws, those numbers have now increased to the double digits.  Some states like Maine, Nevada and Illinois have more recently adopted paid time off usable for any reason (essentially vacation) as opposed to specific illness and safety circumstances.  We also are now seeing jurisdictions that passed earlier sick leave laws modifying their laws to maintain parity with these newer and more generous entitlements.  Though there are commonalities among the individual sick and paid time-off laws, there are differences that employers operating in multiple jurisdictions need to be mindful of for cost and compliance, such as employer coverage, employee eligibility requirements, amounts of leave, accrual caps, and whether unused hours carry-over.  Employers should be mindful of each jurisdiction’s legal requirements (or lack thereof).