What Is Leave

Leave is when an employee is allowed to take time off from work without loosing their employee status. Leave can be paid or unpaid. 

Paid Leaves are Earned Vacation Time (leave), Holidays, Sick Leave and Leave of Absence with Pay. 

Unpaid Leaves are Leave of Absence without Pay, Sick leave taken under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Earned Leave

This occurs if an employer offers Leave as part of a benefits package and allow employees to employee accumulates paid vacation time based on the number of years they have with the organization and the amount of hours work weekly.

If the employer offers this to one employee they must offer it to all employees.

Holidays

An employer may include holidays as part of the paid leave calculation when they grant an employee leave as part of their benefits package.  An employer may grant paid or unpaid holiday leave.  There are no federal or state law that stipulates what an employee must do with regard to holidays.

What is Sick Leave

Sick Leave is time given to an employee by the employer to be away from work without loosing their employee status to take care of personal or family illnesses'.  Sick Leave can be paid or unpaid.  An employee earns "paid sick leave" in much the same way that they earn "paid vacation time".  However, the amount of Sick Leave earned is normally less than the regular vacation time.  Sick leave earned is usually one hour for ever 30-40 hours worked.

For employees who need to take time away from work but don't have enough paid sick leave time that they can use can be covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  The Act allows them to take unpaid sick leave for up to 12 weeks for certain medical situations.  This could be used for illness of either the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family. 

Employees are eligible to take FMLA leave if they have worked for their employer for at least 12 months, and have worked for at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months, and work at a location where at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.

Leave of Absence (LOA)

Leave of Absence (LOA): This when an employee is allowed to take time away from the job without loosing their status as an employee.  Leave of Absence can be with or without pay.

- LOA with Pay: An employee can take a leave of absence with pay when the employer request it.  For example, an employer may choose to continue to pay an employee who is called away for Jury Duty.

- LOA without Pay:  An employee may request a Leave of Absence without pay.  For example, if an employee has exhausted their authorized vacation time and still needs time away from their jobs to take care of personal issues they may request Leave without Pay.  Leave without Pay may also be taken if an employee is called up for active duty in the military.  An employer may also grant Leave without Pay in lieu of laying off an employee in order to reduce expenses and keep the business afloat. 

What Benefits are Continued During Authorized Absences

Normally when paid leave is granted the employer has to ensure that the employee still receive benefits that they would normally earn such as  medical and contributions to retirement fund, etc.

Is Leave Mandated by Law

Leave is not mandated by federal or state law.  Leave is granted by an employer as a benefit to their employees.  Most companies offer leave as part of a total benefits package in order to remain competitive.  However, most do not offer more than a few days of sick leave to their employees.  If an employer grants leave to one employee they must grant it to all  employees.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays. These benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee's representative).

However, if you have a contract with the government valued above $2,500 you must comply with the guidelines outlined in the following acts:
- McNamara O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA)
Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA)

Most state do not mandate by law that employers give their employees sick leave.  Only a handful of states and cities have such mandate.  They Include:

2006

San Francisco, CA

 

2008

Washington D.C.
Milwaukee, WI

2011

Connecticut
Seattle, WA

 

2013

Portland, OR
Jersey City, NJ
SETAC, Washington

2014

Newark, NJ
New York City,  NY
California
Passaic, NJ
East Orange, NJ
Paterson, NJ
Trenton, NJ
Montclair, NJ
Oakland, CA
Massachusetts

 

2015

Tacoma, WA
Philadelphia, PA
Bloomfield, NJ
Oregon
Montgomery County, MD
Pittsburgh, PA
Elizabeth, NJ
Brunswick, NJ

2016

Spokane, WA
Vermont

Plainfield, NJ

Santa Monica, CA

Minneapolis, MN

Los Angeles, CA

San Diego, CA

Chicago, IL

Berkeley, CA

St. Paul, MN

Cook County, IL

Arizona

Washington


The National Partnership for Women and Families is a non-profit organization that advocates for state laws mandating paid sick leave.

Leave Laws

FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act)
 

Federal vs. State Family and Medical Leave Law

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)

Not all states have laws governing how much time off  you're supposed to give your employees.  These states have what is called "Days of Rest" laws.

California
Illinois
Kansas
Massachusetts
New York
North Dakota
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin