How To Download [PORTABLE] A Sick Note
Wendy Akerson
Any statutory holiday entitlement that is not used because of illness can be carried over into the next leave year. If an employee is ill just before or during their holiday, they can take it as sick leave instead.
As an alternative to employees accruing 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, employers may choose to provide the full amount of sick leave required by this law at the beginning of each calendar year (e.g., a business with over a 100 employees could provide 56 hours of sick leave to each employee starting January 1 of each year or at the beginning of a twelve month period as determined by the employer. Such up-front sick leave is not subject to later revocation or reduction if, for instance, the employee works fewer hours than anticipated by the employer).
If an employer, including those covered by a collective bargaining agreement, has an existing leave policy (sick leave or other time off) that meets or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements, this law does not present any further obligations on that employer.
Upon the request of an employee, employers are required provide, within three business days, a summary of the amounts of sick leave accrued and used by the employee in the current calendar year and/or any previous calendar year.
Upon the request of an employee, employers are required to provide, within three business days, a summary of the amounts of sick leave accrued and used by the employee in the current calendar year and/or any previous calendar year.
(d) Except where prohibited by law, an employer may request documentation from an employee confirming their eligibility to take sick leave under Section 196-b of the Labor Law where the employee uses leave for three or more consecutive and previously scheduled workdays or shifts. An employer cannot require an employee or the person providing documentation, including medical professionals, to disclose the reason for leave, except as required by law. Requests for documentation shall be limited to the following:
(b) Employees on paid or unpaid leave, including sick leave, leaves of absence, disciplinary suspension, or any other type of temporary absence, are counted as long as the employer has a reasonable expectation that the employee will later return to active employment. If there is no employment relationship (as when an employee is laid off or terminated, whether temporarily or permanently), such individual is not counted.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2024 workers under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Industry Code 23 (construction), except for code 2361 (residential building construction) who have not been employed for 90 calendar days, must be paid the balance of their paid sick leave following separation from employment. This requirement is a result of the passage of ESSB 5111 in 2023.
Employees have new rights, and employers have significant new responsibilities under Washington's Paid Sick Leave law, which was passed by voters in 2016 as part of Initiative 1433. As of Jan. 1, 2018, employers in Washington State are required to provide paid sick leave to their employees.
If you are an employee in Washington State, your employer is now required to provide you with paid sick leave. The paid sick leave law was one of several changes to worker rights mandated by Initiative 1433, approved by Washington voters in 2016.
You may begin using earned paid sick leave 90 calendar days after your first day of work with your employer. If you separate from your employer and are rehired within 12 months, any days you worked before leaving your job will count toward this 90-day period.
If you have a complaint or suspicion about your employer not providing you with paid sick leave or violating your other rights under the Minimum Wage Act, you can report it to L&I. Complete the form below online or by mail, and include any relevant information or records. Mail or bring the form and records to the L&I office where the business is located.
At the discretion of the agency, up to 104 hours (13 days) of sick leave may be advanced to an employee, when required by the exigencies of the situation, for an employee's own medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment. An agency may also grant up to 240 hours (30 days) of advanced sick leave for an employee's own illness, injury, pregnancy, childbirth, or exposure to a communicable disease. For further details, please see our fact sheet entitled Advanced Sick Leave.
An employee must request sick leave within such time limits as the agency may require. An agency may require employees to request advanced approval of sick leave for medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment. If the employee complies with the agency's notification and medical evidence/certification requirements, the agency must grant sick leave.
An agency may grant sick leave only when supported by administratively acceptable evidence. For absences in excess of 3 days, or for a lesser period when determined necessary by the agency, an agency may require a medical certificate or other administratively acceptable evidence. An agency may consider an employee's self-certification as to the reason for his or her absence as administratively acceptable evidence, regardless of the duration of the absence. Employees should consult their agency-specific human resources guidance and review applicable policies set forth in collective bargaining agreements for information specific to their agency.
An employee must provide administratively acceptable evidence or medical certification within 15 days of the agency's request. If the employee is unable to provide evidence, despite the employee's diligent, good faith efforts, he or she must provide it within a reasonable period of time, but no later than 30 calendar days after the agency makes the request. If the employee fails to provide the required evidence within the specified time period, he or she is not entitled to sick leave.
A pregnant employee who must be absent from work at some point before giving birth for her own health or that of her unborn child is entitled to use sick leave. According to the definition of serious health condition, any period of incapacity due to pregnancy or childbirth, or for prenatal care, is considered a serious health condition, even if the employee does not receive active treatment from a health care provider during the period of incapacity or the period of incapacity does not last more than 3 consecutive calendar days. Sick leave may be used for medical examinations and during the period of incapacitation for delivery and recuperation. Once the period of incapacitation is over, there is no entitlement to use sick leave. An employee may not use sick leave to voluntarily be absent from work to bond with a healthy newborn. There is no provision in law or regulation that permits the use of sick leave to care for a healthy newborn, bond with a healthy child, or for other child care responsibilities. Please see OPM's Handbook on Leave and Workplace Flexibilities for Childbirth, Adoption, and Foster Care for more information.
An employee is entitled to use sick leave if health authorities or a health care provider determine that the employee's presence on the job would jeopardize the health of others because of exposure to a communicable disease. The use of sick leave would be appropriate in these circumstances even if the employee is not sick but would be limited to circumstances where exposure alone would jeopardize the health of others and would only arise in cases of serious communicable diseases, such as communicable diseases where Federal isolation and quarantine are authorized, which currently includes: cholera, diphtheria, infectious tuberculosis, plague, smallpox, yellow fever, viral hemorrhagic fevers, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and influenza that causes or has the potential to cause a pandemic. For more information, visit the CDC website which provides an illustrative, but not exhaustive, list of the types of serious communicable diseases where exposure alone would jeopardize the health of others.
This provides an illustrative, but not exhaustive, list of the types of serious communicable diseases where exposure alone would jeopardize the health of others. If the employee actually contracts the communicable disease and becomes ill, sick leave for personal illness would be appropriate.
Sick leave may be used only for those circumstances specified in law and regulation. The Federal Government offers a wide range of leave options and workplace flexibilities to assist an employee who needs to be away from the workplace. These flexibilities include annual leave, sick leave, advanced annual leave or advanced sick leave, leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), donated leave under the voluntary leave transfer program, leave without pay, alternative work schedules, credit hours under flexible work schedules, compensatory time off and telework. Agencies may also have a voluntary leave bank program.
Sick and safe time is paid leave employers must provide to employees in Minnesota that can be used for certain reasons, including when an employee is sick, to care for a sick family member or to seek assistance if an employee or their family member has experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking.
Temporary and part-time employees are eligible for sick and safe time. Sick and safe time requirements will not apply to building and construction industry employees who are represented by a building and construction trades labor organization if a valid waiver of these requirements is provided in a collective bargaining agreement.
include the total number of earned sick and safe time hours available for use, as well as the total number of earned sick and safe time hours used, on earnings statements provided to employees at the end of each pay period;
The Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) requires Colorado employers to provide two types of paid sick leave to their employees: accrued leave and public health emergency (PHE) leave (not currently in effect). The following points apply to both PHE and accrued leave.
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