Current Sick Days Laws

Paid sick days laws are or will soon be in place in 10 states, the District of Columbia and 22 other jurisdictions. An estimated 46 million private sector workers are legally protected by these laws. View a chart summarizing key aspects of existing laws here. Paid sick days standards are emerging across the country. .

Here’s a quick overview (as of June 2018):

• Arizona, Connecticut, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington have statewide paid sick days laws in effect that allow a significant share of workers in the state to earn paid sick days to recover from illness, seek medical care, or care for a sick family member. Most of these laws also include paid safe days allow survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault (all except Massachusetts), stalking (all except Connecticut and Massachusetts) or harassment (Oregon only) to use earned leave to seek services related to these incidents.
• The following cities and counties have laws in effect that allow workers to earn paid sick days to recover from a short-term illness, care for a sick family member or seek routine medical care: San Francisco, Oakland, Emeryville, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Santa Monica and San Diego (Calif.); Washington, D.C.; New York City; Seattle and Tacoma (Wash.); Philadelphia (Pa.); Montgomery County (Md.); Chicago and Cook County (Ill.); St. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth (Minn.); and Dallas (Texas).
• The cities and counties with paid sick days laws in effect or soon to be in effect that include paid safe days, which provide time for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking to seek services related to these incidents, include: San Francisco, Emeryville, San Diego, Los Angeles and Santa Monica (Calif.); Washington, D.C.; Seattle and Tacoma (Wash.); Philadelphia (Pa.); Montgomery County (Md.); Chicago and Cook County (Ill).; Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth (Minn.); and San Antonio, Dallas and Austin (Texas). The law in Austin is delayed pending review by the courts.
• Pittsburgh's law was ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in July 2019, and it will be implemented in March 2020. The 13 local laws currently in effect in New Jersey were superseded by the statewide law in October 2018.
• Additionally, 11 states — California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin — and the District of Columbia allow at least some workers who already have paid sick days to use them to care for certain family members. Some of these laws provide this right only to workers with seriously ill family members, while others permit flexible use of sick leave for family members with routine illnesses.