Under the new law, organizations with eleven or more employees will be required to provide paid sick time, while organizations with fewer than eleven employees must provide unpaid sick time.

Below are the highlights:

  • Employees can earn and use up to 40 hours of sick time per calendar year;
  • Employees can carry over up to 40 hours of unused sick time from year to year, but may not use more than 40 hours per year;
  • Employees can use earned sick time to miss work for three reasons: 1) their own or a close relative’s (child, spouse, parent or parent-in-law) medical condition; (2) their own or a close relative’s routine medical appointments; or (3) addressing effects of domestic violence on themselves or dependent children;
  • Current employees can begin using sick time as soon as it is earned, but new employees must wait until 90 days after hire;
  • Employees can use sick time in one-hour increments or any smaller increment that the employer’s payroll system uses to account for time off;
  • Employers can require certification from a health care provider when an employee uses more than 24 consecutive hours of sick time, but employers cannot require detailed documentation, nor can they delay the taking of sick time until certification has been received;
  • Employers may not discipline, terminate or otherwise retaliate against an employee for using or requesting sick time.