Template · Time off and attendance
Sick leave policy
In short
A sick leave policy template sets out how employees earn and use time off for illness, medical care and family health needs: accrual rate, covered reasons, how to report an absence, when a doctor's note is needed, carryover and how sick leave interacts with attendance rules and FMLA. This version is written to meet common state paid sick leave requirements.
Sick Leave Policy template
Sick Leave Policy
Bracketed items are choices to set for your organization. Where a state or local paid sick leave law gives employees more generous terms than this policy, employees receive the more generous terms. Have counsel check the policy against the law in every location where you have employees.
1. Purpose
[Company Name] provides paid sick leave so employees can stay home when they or their family members are sick, get medical care, and recover without losing pay. We would rather an employee take a sick day than come to work ill and spread it to colleagues or customers.
2. Who is eligible
All employees, including full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees, accrue paid sick leave from their first day of employment. Employees may begin using accrued sick leave on their [90th] calendar day of employment, or sooner where local law requires.
3. How sick leave is earned
Employees accrue [1] hour of paid sick leave for every [30] hours worked, including overtime hours, up to [56] hours per year. Exempt employees are treated as working 40 hours per workweek for accrual, unless their normal workweek is shorter, in which case accrual is based on that normal workweek. [Alternative, front-loading: On January 1 each year, and on the date of hire for new employees prorated for the rest of the year, employees receive [40] hours of paid sick leave.] The leave year runs from [January 1 to December 31].
4. Reasons employees may use sick leave
Paid sick leave may be used for: the employee's own physical or mental illness, injury or health condition; medical diagnosis, care, treatment or preventive care such as checkups and vaccinations; the same needs for a family member, meaning a child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, [parent-in-law] or any other individual covered by applicable law; closure of the employee's workplace or a child's school or place of care by public health order; and absences related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking affecting the employee or a family member, including seeking medical attention, counseling, legal help or relocation.
5. How to use sick leave
Sick leave may be used in increments of [1 hour / the smallest increment the payroll system tracks / 2 hours, or the full shift]. When the need is foreseeable, such as a scheduled appointment, employees should give [7] days' notice where possible. When it is not foreseeable, employees should notify [their supervisor / the attendance line at Phone Number / the scheduling app] as soon as practical and, where possible, at least [1] hour before the start of the shift. Employees do not need to describe their medical condition, only that the absence is for a reason covered by this policy. Employees are not required to find a replacement worker to cover their shift.
6. Documentation (sick notes)
For absences of [3] or fewer consecutive scheduled workdays, no documentation is required. For absences of more than [3] consecutive scheduled workdays, the Company may ask for reasonable documentation that the leave was for a covered reason, such as a note from a health care provider confirming the need for leave. The note does not need to state the diagnosis or medical condition. For domestic violence related absences, documentation may include a police report, court document or a signed statement from the employee or an advocate. The Company does not require documentation where local law prohibits it, and will not delay pay while documentation is pending.
7. Pay during sick leave
Sick leave is paid at the employee's regular rate of pay for the hours the employee was scheduled to work, [including shift differentials normally earned]. Sick leave hours are not counted as hours worked for overtime. Sick leave is paid on the regular payday for the pay period in which it was used.
8. Carryover, cap and cash-out
Unused accrued sick leave carries over to the next year, up to a maximum balance of [80] hours. Employees may use up to [56] hours in a leave year. [If front-loaded, unused hours do not carry over.] Unused sick leave is not paid out when employment ends, unless state law or a separate PTO policy requires it. If an employee leaves and is rehired within [12] months, their previous unused balance is restored and they may use it immediately.
9. No retaliation
The Company will not count protected sick leave as an absence that leads to discipline, attendance points, loss of a bonus or any other adverse action, and will not retaliate against an employee for requesting or using sick leave, filing a complaint or taking part in an investigation. Misuse of sick leave, such as a pattern of using it for non-covered reasons, may be addressed under the [attendance / disciplinary] policy after a fair review of the facts.
10. Relationship to other leave
Sick leave may run at the same time as leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, state family or medical leave laws, workers' compensation or disability benefits, as permitted by law. Employees absent for more than [3] days because of a serious health condition, or for a pregnancy-related condition, should contact HR, who will explain any job-protected leave or accommodation available. [If the Company has a combined PTO policy, state here whether that policy satisfies paid sick leave requirements.]
11. Balance and records
Employees can see their accrued, used and available sick leave on [each pay statement / the HR portal]. The Company keeps records of hours worked and sick leave accrued and used for at least [3] years, or longer where law requires. Medical information provided with any request is kept confidential and separate from the personnel file.
Employee acknowledgment
- I have received and read the Sick Leave Policy and know how to report an absence.
- Employee name
- Employee signature
- Date
How to use this template
- List every state and city where you have employees, including remote workers, and check each one's paid sick leave law for accrual, caps, waiting periods, covered family members and documentation limits.
- Choose accrual (1 hour per 30 worked is a common legal minimum) or front-loading, and set the cap, carryover and usage increments to meet the most demanding location, or add location addenda.
- Decide whether sick leave is separate or part of a combined PTO bank, and make sure a combined bank still meets every sick leave rule.
- Set up payroll to accrue, display and pay sick leave correctly, including the balance on pay statements where required.
- Code protected sick absences in your timekeeping system so they never generate attendance points.
- Publish the policy, post any required state notices, collect acknowledgments, and train supervisors on call-in handling and what not to ask.
Paid sick leave law in the US
There is no general federal requirement for private employers to provide paid sick leave. Federal contractors covered by Executive Order 13706 must provide up to 56 hours a year, accrued at 1 hour per 30 hours worked. FMLA leave is job-protected but unpaid. The real rules come from states and cities: a large and growing number of states, plus cities such as New York City, Chicago and Seattle, require paid sick leave, and the details differ.
Common patterns in those laws: accrual of 1 hour per 30 or 40 hours worked; annual use caps of 40 to 72 hours; a waiting period of up to 90 days before use; coverage for part-time and temporary staff; family members defined broadly; safe time for domestic violence; and limits on requiring sick notes for short absences. This template defaults to settings that meet many of these laws, but there is no single policy that matches every state. Multi-state employers usually write a base policy and add state addenda.
Choosing between a sick bank and combined PTO
A separate sick bank keeps vacation and illness apart, which tends to keep sick people at home. A combined PTO policy is simpler to run, and most state laws accept it as long as employees can use the PTO for every covered sick reason under the same conditions, at the required accrual and cap.
The trade-off: under combined PTO, employees often save their bank for vacation and come in sick. In a contact center or a food production line, that spreads illness to a whole team. If you combine, consider setting a minimum number of hours that can only be used for illness, or at least make sure supervisors are not discouraging sick calls to protect vacation plans.
Sick note policy: when to ask and what to ask for
Asking for a doctor's note after every one-day absence is expensive for low-wage employees, clogs clinics, and in many states and cities is not allowed for short absences. A common legal limit is no documentation for absences of three consecutive workdays or fewer. Where you can ask, ask only for confirmation that the absence was for a covered reason. Never ask for the diagnosis, and keep any medical information separate from the personnel file, as the ADA requires.
For longer absences, documentation helps everyone because it often signals an FMLA or ADA situation. Hand those over to HR early and use the FMLA leave request form where the employee may be eligible. When the employee comes back after an extended illness, a return to work form records any restrictions.
Sick leave and attendance points
Many hourly employers run attendance point systems. Those systems create legal risk when they assign points for absences protected by sick leave law, FMLA or the ADA. Paid sick leave laws generally prohibit counting protected use as an occurrence. The practical fix is in timekeeping: a call-out coded as sick leave, with available balance, must not trigger a point. Absences with no available balance, or for non-covered reasons, can still count.
Worked example: a 300-agent contact center gives 1 point per unscheduled absence, with termination at 8 points. An agent with 24 hours of accrued sick leave calls out for two 8-hour shifts with the flu. Both days come off the sick balance and add no points. A third day the following week, with only 8 hours left, also comes off the balance. A fourth day with no balance left falls under the attendance policy, unless it is FMLA or another protected leave.
Common mistakes
- Writing a policy for the headquarters state and applying it to remote employees in other states.
- Requiring employees to find their own shift cover before calling in sick, which several laws prohibit.
- Paying sick leave at base rate when local law requires the regular rate including differentials.
- Failing to show sick leave balances on pay stubs where required.
- Letting supervisors ask 'what's wrong with you' on the call-in line. Train them to record the absence and the covered reason category, nothing more.
Rules vary by state and city, and they change often. Review the policy at least once a year.
Frequently asked questions
What should a paid sick leave policy include?
Eligibility, accrual or front-loading rate, when leave can be used, covered reasons including family care and safe time, how to report an absence, documentation rules, pay rate, carryover and caps, no-retaliation language, the link to FMLA and other leave, and where employees can see their balance.
Is paid sick leave required by federal law?
Not for most private employers. Federal contractors covered by Executive Order 13706 must provide it, and many states and cities require it. Check the law in every location where employees work.
Can an employer require a sick note for one day off?
It depends on the location. Many state and local sick leave laws prohibit requiring documentation for absences of three consecutive days or fewer. Where it is allowed, ask only for confirmation of a covered reason, not the diagnosis.
Does unused sick leave have to be paid out at termination?
Generally no for sick leave that is separate from vacation, but some states treat combined PTO as earned wages that must be paid out. Check the state's final pay rules.
Can I use a sick leave policy sample from another state?
Use it as a starting point only. Accrual rates, caps, waiting periods, family member definitions and documentation rules differ by state and city, so adjust the policy for each location.