• With the above described legislation, changes must be made to time off policies in those areas in which you have employees.
• ulti-State employers need to know what the compliance requirements are. Since each state and municipality have different rules for accrual and use of sick leave, compliance is difficult.
• Under the mandatory paid sick leave, abuse can become a huge problem.  How will your organization deal with it?

Fifteen states and the District of Columbia now require employers to provide paid sick leave to its employees.  Three became effective on January 1, 2021(Colorado, Maine, and New York).  In addition, 22 municipalities require employees receive paid sick leave and 14 states are considering passing laws soon. A Federal Law requiring paid sick leave seems to be getting closer to becoming a reality. 

Do you have a Federal Contract?  If so, you are required to have a sick leave policy.  

Do you have a contract with a municipality?  If so, have you checked the fine print to see if you have to offer paid sick leave to your employees?

Every Law is Different

One thing to know is that every state and municipal law requiring mandatory paid sick leave is different. Trying to comply with all of them is causing much confusion. For example, Vermont requires paid sick leave be offered after one year of service while other require it after 90 or 120 days. New York’s law requires sick leave be paid as it accrues. Most require you offer paid sick leave to part time employees.  Other require it of all employees – even those who work on an on-call basis.

Is Your PTO Plan Obsolete?

PTO or a Paid Time Off programs that combined vacation and sick leave into one bucket of time off was the trend for many years. With the passage of these laws, many organizations are doing away with their PTO as many states require payment of unused PTO upon termination.