ME, NV Accrued Paid Leave Mandates Expand State Sick Leave Law Totals

Maine and Nevada recently enacted laws requiring employers to provide paid leave to be used for any reason. The mandates are just the latest among a growing number of laws requiring employers to provide paid sick and other accrued leave for employees. No federal law requires private-sector employers to provide paid leave, unless they are federal contractors subject to Executive Order 13706. However, 11 states — Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington — and the District of Columbia have previously enacted paid sick leave mandates. The following chart can help employers track key provisions of different jurisdictions’ accrued paid leave laws, including:

• Which employers must comply, and which employees can accrue and take paid leave
• How much paid leave employees can accumulate, use and carry over
• What reasons — in addition to an employee’s own illness — justify the use of accrued paid leave
• What absence notices or documentation employers can require from employees, and what information about the mandate employers must provide to employees
• What job protections apply to employees who exercise their rights to accrued paid leave

Future updates will add details about newly enacted accrued paid leave laws in other states. This chart does not cover other leave mandates, such as:

• Unpaid leave required by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act or similar state laws
• Paid sick leave required by local law or ordinance (other than the District of Columbia)
• Paid disability or family and medical leave programs required by state law