PAID SICK LEAVE BENEFITS, A NATIONWIDE LIST – Is Your Business Affected?
Currently, no federal paid sick leave law exists. However, over the last decade, many states, counties and cities have passed distinct laws requiring covered employers to provide such benefits to designated workers.
Businesses employing persons in multiple covered locations may face conflicting requirements for each.
A current list of jurisdictions nationwide that we have found with such laws:
| State/County/City | Covered Employers | Effective Date |
| Arizona | All employers regardless of size. | July 1, 2017 |
| California | All employers regardless of size. | July 1, 2015 |
| Berkeley, CA | All employers regardless of size. | October 1, 2017 |
| Emeryville, CA | All employers regardless of size. | July 2, 2015 |
| Los Angeles, CA | Employers with 26 or more employees. | July 1, 2016 |
| Employers with 25 or fewer employees. | July 1, 2017 | |
| Long Beach, CA | Hotel employers. | November 6, 2012 |
| Oakland, CA | All employers regardless of size. | March 2, 2015 |
| San Diego, CA | All employers regardless of size. | July 11, 2016 |
| San Francisco, CA | All employers regardless of size. | February 5, 2007 |
| Santa Monica, CA | All employers regardless of size. | January 1, 2017 |
| Connecticut | For employers with 50 or employees (for services workers only.) | January 1, 2012 |
| District of Columbia | All employers regardless of size. | November 13, 2008 |
| Chicago, IL | All employers regardless of size that maintain a business facility within the City of Chicago and/or are required to obtain a business license to operate in the city. |
July 1, 2017 |
| Cook County, IL | All employers that employ at least one covered employee at a place of business within the Cook County. | July 1, 2017 |
| Montgomery County, MD | Employers with five or more employees, and both paid and unpaid if it has fewer than 5 employees. | October 1, 2016 |
| Massachusetts | Employers with 11 or more employees and unpaid if fewer than 11. | July 1, 2015 |
| Minneapolis, MN | Employers with 6 or more employees. Employers with 5 or fewer employees can choose to provide unpaid leave. | July 1, 2017 |
| St. Paul, MN | Employers with 24 or more employees. | July 1, 2017 |
| Bloomfield, NJ | All employers regardless of size. | July 1, 2015 |
| Elizabeth, NJ | All employers regardless of size. | March 2, 2016 |
| East Orange, NJ | All employers regardless of size. | January 7, 2015 |
| Irvington, NJ | All employers regardless of size. | January 28, 2015 |
| Jersey City, NJ | Employers with 10 or more employees. Employers with fewer than 10 employees can provide unpaid sick days. | January 24, 2014 |
| Montclair, NJ | All employers regardless of size. | March 4, 2015 |
| Morristown, NJ | All employers regardless of size. | January 11, 2017 |
| New Brunswick, NJ | Employers with 5 or more full time employees. | January 6, 2016 |
| Newark, NJ | All employers regardless of size. | June 21, 2014 |
| Passaic, NJ | All employers regardless of size. | January 1, 2015 |
| Paterson, NJ | All employers regardless of size. | January 8, 2015 |
| Plainfield, NJ | All employers regardless of size. | July 15, 2016 |
| New York City, NY | Employers with five or more employees, or one or more domestic worker. Employers with fewer than five employees must provide unpaid sick leave. | April 1, 2014 |
| Portland, OR | All employers with 10 or more employees (at least 6 for employers located in Portland) Employers with less than 10 employees (less than 6 for employers located in Portland.) | January 1, 2016 |
| Philadelphia, PA | Employers with 10 or more employees must provide paid sick leave. Employers with 9 employees must provide unpaid sick leave. | May 13, 2015 |
| Vermont | Employers with more than five employees. | January 1, 2017 |
| Employers with five or fewer employees. | January 1, 2018 | |
| Washington | All Employers regardless the size. | January 1, 2018 |
| SeaTac, WA | Hospitality, transportation and retail employers with 10 or more employees (non – managerial employees.) | January 1, 2014 |
| Seattle, WA | All employers with more than four full- time equivalent employees (including full time, part-time and temporary workers.) | September 1, 2012 |
| Spokane, WA | All employers regardless of size. New businesses which start up during 2017 will have an additional year from the date they get their first business registration in Spokane. | January 1, 2017 |
| Tacoma, WA | All employers regardless of size. | February 1, 2016 |
See also:
- Bulletproofing Los Angeles’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance (October, 2016).
- San Diego Paid Sick Leave Requirements, Effective July 11 and September 2, 2016 (August, 2016).
- Santa Monica Rides the Sick Pay Wave (August, 2016).
- California Paid Sick Leave Law, More About (November, 2015).
- Oakland Paid Sick Leave Law Provides Greater Benefits Than the Upcoming State Requirements (March, 2015).
For more information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.
Cindy Bamforth
August 15, 2017