Your rights

Paid sick leave: how many sick days you earn, state by state

STATEState law: there is no federal paid sick leave law. California, New York, Washington, Arizona and New Jersey are compared here; Texas and Florida have no state law and bar their cities from passing one.Checked by the Justice legal team against official sources · Last reviewed Oct 21, 2026

Short answer

No federal law requires paid sick days. In California you earn 1 hour of paid sick leave per 30 hours worked and can use at least 40 hours or 5 days a year. New York gives 40 or 56 hours, Washington 1 hour per 40 hours, Arizona 24 or 40 hours, New Jersey 40 hours; Texas and Florida none.

Calculator · 6 rules

How much paid sick leave have you earned?

Each state's rate and caps read from its statute or labor department; the federal rule covers Texas, Florida and most states · checked Oct 21, 2026

Which state?

Hours you have worked for this employer this yearPaid work hours only; vacation and sick hours do not count.

Your employer's size

Pick your state and enter the hours you have worked this year.

Rehearse the conversation The rules, state by state

Each rule comes from the official source linked in the result. It runs on your device: nothing you type is stored or sent. General information, not legal advice.

Key points

Federal rule: No federal law requires paid sick leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible workers unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition; the states below add paid sick time.
California: You earn 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, can use at least 40 hours or 5 days a year, and your employer may cap what you bank at 80 hours or 10 days. You can start using it after 90 days on the job.
Other states: New York: 40 hours paid at 5 to 99 employees, 56 hours at 100 or more. Washington: 1 hour per 40 hours worked. Arizona: 24 hours under 15 employees, 40 hours at 15 or more. New Jersey: 40 hours at any employer.
If refused: Your employer cannot make you find a replacement, condition the leave on a doctor's note in California, or punish you for using sick time. Unpaid sick leave is claimed like unpaid wages; retaliation is a separate complaint.

Whether you get paid sick days depends on your state, not on federal law. The U.S. Department of Labor says there are currently no federal legal requirements for paid sick leave; the Family and Medical Leave Act requires only unpaid leave. California, New York, Washington, Arizona and New Jersey are among the states that make employers give paid sick time, earned at a set rate for every hour you work. Texas and Florida have no such law and bar their cities from passing one.

Below: the federal rule, California's law in depth, the rules in New York, Washington, Arizona and New Jersey, a state-by-state table of accrual rates, caps, waiting periods and carryover, what you can use sick time for, what to do and say when your boss refuses to pay, and the common questions. This page explains the law; it is not legal advice.

The federal rule: no paid sick leave law, and what Texas and Florida workers have

There is no federal paid sick leave law. The U.S. Department of Labor puts it in one line: currently, there are no federal legal requirements for paid sick leave. For companies covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Act does require unpaid sick leave, with your job and health coverage protected: see FMLA leave. U.S. Department of Labor: Sick leave

Texas: no state law, and the written policy rules. The Texas Workforce Commission's guidebook says that no current Texas or federal law requires private-sector employers to provide paid or unpaid leave of any kind, apart from unpaid leave that may be needed as a reasonable accommodation. If your employer promises paid sick leave in a written policy or agreement, the Texas Payday Law enforces it according to what the policy provides, including whether unused leave is paid out when you leave; if the policy is silent on a payout, there is none to enforce. Texas cities and counties may not require sick leave: the Labor Code bars local rules on employment leave and benefits.Texas Workforce Commission: Vacation and sick leave · Tex. Lab. Code § 1.005
Florida: no state law, and cities may not require it. Florida has no paid sick leave statute, and state law bars a city or county from requiring an employer to provide employment benefits not otherwise required by state or federal law; the statute's definition of employment benefits includes sick leave.Fla. Stat. § 218.077
Other states and cities. Besides the five states compared here, other states and many cities require paid sick time, and in California a city rule that is more generous than the state law applies on top of it. Your state labor department's website will say whether you are covered.

Tip. Covered by a union contract or a company policy? A contract or written policy can give more than the law, and in Texas a written policy is what the state enforces. Read it before you call in, and keep a copy.

California sick leave law: 1 hour for every 30 hours, at least 40 hours or 5 days a year

California's paid sick leave law, Labor Code §§ 245.5 to 249, covers nearly every employee who works in California, including part-time, per diem and temporary workers. The Labor Commissioner's Office explains it in its paid sick leave FAQ, updated December 31, 2025, which this section follows. Labor Commissioner's Office: Paid sick leave · Cal. Lab. Code § 246

Who qualifies: 30 days of work, then a 90-day wait to use it. All employees who work at least 30 days for the same employer within a year in California qualify. You must satisfy a 90-day employment period before taking any sick leave.Cal. Lab. Code § 246 · Labor Commissioner's Office: Paid sick leave FAQ
How it accrues: 1 hour per 30 hours worked. Under an accrual plan you earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for each 30 hours of work. Your employer may limit your total accrued paid sick leave to no more than 80 hours or 10 days, and unused hours carry over to the next year.Cal. Lab. Code § 246
How much you can use: 40 hours or 5 days a year, whichever is more. Since January 1, 2024, your employer must let you use at least five days or 40 hours, whichever is more, in each year of employment. Your employer may set a minimum increment of up to 2 hours per use.Cal. Lab. Code § 246
Up-front plans. Instead of accrual, an employer may make the full yearly amount available at the start of each year-long period. A new hire on an up-front plan must have 24 hours available by the 120th day of employment and 40 hours by the 200th day.Labor Commissioner's Office: Paid sick leave FAQ
What you can use it for. Diagnosis, care or treatment of your own health condition or a family member's, preventive care, and safe time for a victim of qualifying acts of violence; since 2025, also jury duty and a court appearance in response to a subpoena. Family members include the employee's parent, child, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling or designated person.Cal. Lab. Code §§ 245.5-249 · Labor Commissioner's Office: Paid sick leave FAQ
No replacement worker, no note as a condition, no retaliation. Your employer cannot require you to find a replacement as a condition for taking paid sick leave. The leave is not conditioned on medical certification, and an employer may not deny paid sick leave based solely on a lack of certification from a health care provider. An employer generally may not discipline or retaliate against you for using accrued, available sick leave for a covered reason; you can file a retaliation complaint with the Labor Commissioner's Office within 1 year of the act.Labor Commissioner's Office: Paid sick leave FAQ · Retaliation FAQ
Notice, pay and payout. Give advance notice when the leave is planned, and notice as soon as practical when it is not. Sick leave is paid at your regular non-overtime rate, no later than the next regular payday. Unused sick leave is not paid out when you leave, unlike vacation, unless your employer's policy provides for a payout; if the same employer rehires you within 12 months, your unused balance is restored.Labor Commissioner's Office: Paid sick leave FAQ
Local ordinances give more. Some California cities and counties have their own paid sick leave ordinances. Where a local rule and the state law differ, the employer must provide the provision or benefit that is most generous to the employee.Labor Commissioner's Office: Paid sick leave FAQ

Tip. Part-time? The 30-hour rule means 20 hours a week earns 2 hours of sick leave every 3 weeks. The calculator at the top does the arithmetic from your hours.

New York, Washington, Arizona and New Jersey

New York: 40 or 56 hours a year, by employer size. Employers with 100 or more employees must provide up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per calendar year; with 5 to 99 employees, up to 40 hours of paid sick leave. An employer with 4 or fewer employees must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave if its net income in the previous tax year was greater than $1 million, and up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave if it was $1 million or less. Leave accrues at not less than 1 hour per 30 hours worked from your first day; there is no minimum period of employment before you can use it, though under an accrual plan you would have to work at least 30 hours before earning any. Unused leave must be carried over to the next calendar year, but your employer may limit use to the yearly amount. It can be used for your own or a family member's illness, injury or health condition, diagnosis, care or treatment, preventive care, and safe leave after domestic violence, a family offense, a sexual offense, stalking or human trafficking. Your employer may not require you to disclose confidential information or to find a replacement worker, and is not required to pay out unused leave when you leave. Complaints: the Department of Labor, 888-469-7365.N.Y. Lab. Law § 196-b · New York State: Paid sick leave · NYS Department of Labor: Paid sick leave FAQ
Washington: 1 hour per 40 hours, usable after 90 days. You must earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours you work, and the state sets no cap on what you earn or use. You may begin using it 90 calendar days after your first day of work with your employer. Unused balances of 40 hours or less carry over to the next year. Uses: your own or a family member's mental or physical illness, injury or health condition; the closure of your workplace or your child's school or place of care by a public official for a health-related reason; and absences that qualify under the state's Domestic Violence Leave Act. Your employer may require verification only for absences exceeding 3 days, and only under a written policy. Complaints go to the Department of Labor & Industries within 3 years; retaliation complaints within 180 days.RCW 49.46.210 · Washington L&I: Paid sick leave · Worker rights complaints
Arizona: 24 or 40 hours a year, by employer size. You accrue a minimum of one hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. At an employer with 15 or more employees you are not entitled to accrue or use more than 40 hours of earned paid sick time per year unless the employer picks a higher limit; with fewer than 15 employees, 24 hours per year. Your employer may make you wait until the 90th calendar day after you start before using it. Unused time carries over to the following year, subject to the same yearly limits, unless the employer pays it out at the end of the year and gives you enough time for the start of the next. Any person may file an administrative complaint with the Industrial Commission; adverse action within 90 days of your asserting a right is presumed to be retaliation; a civil action must be filed within 2 years of the last violation, or 3 years for a willful one; and an employer that fails to pay owes the balance plus an additional amount equal to twice the underpaid sick time.A.R.S. §§ 23-372, 23-364
New Jersey: 40 hours a year, at every employer. Employers of all sizes must give full-time, part-time and temporary employees earned sick leave. You earn one hour for every 30 hours you work, up to 40 hours per benefit year, or your employer may give the 40 hours up front at the start of the year. A new hire can be made to wait 120 days after the first day of employment before using it. You may carry over up to 40 hours of unused earned sick leave into the next benefit year. Uses include your own or a family member's physical or mental health needs, domestic or sexual violence, a school or workplace closure for a public health emergency, and school meetings. Your employer can require documentation for three or more consecutive days off. Complaints: the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance, online or at 609-292-2305.N.J.S.A. 34:11D · New Jersey Department of Labor: Earned sick leave

Other states and many cities have paid sick leave laws of their own. Your state labor department's website is the place to check, and the Work and pay hub lists the agencies that take wage complaints.

Paid sick leave by state: accrual, caps, waiting periods and carryover

The numbers the calculator at the top uses, read from each state's statute or labor department on October 21, 2026. Cal. Lab. Code § 246 · N.Y. Lab. Law § 196-b · RCW 49.46.210 · A.R.S. § 23-372 · N.J.S.A. 34:11D

Rule	Federal (Texas, Florida, most states)	California	New York	Washington	Arizona	New Jersey
Accrual rate	None required. DOL	1 hour per 30 hours worked. § 246	1 hour per 30 hours worked. § 196-b(3)	1 hour per 40 hours worked. L&I	1 hour per 30 hours worked. § 23-372	1 hour per 30 hours worked. NJDOL
Yearly cap on use	No law.	At least 40 hours or 5 days, whichever is more. § 246	56 hours at 100 or more employees; 40 hours at 5 to 14 and at 15 to 99 employees, and at 4 or fewer employees with net income over $1 million; 40 hours unpaid at 4 or fewer with net income of $1 million or less. § 196-b(1)	No cap. L&I	40 hours at 15 or more employees; 24 hours with fewer than 15. § 23-372	40 hours per benefit year. NJDOL
Accrual cap (what you can bank)	No law.	80 hours or 10 days. § 246	No cap stated; use is capped, the balance carries over. FAQ	No cap. L&I	40 hours at 15 or more employees; 24 hours with fewer than 15. § 23-372	40 hours. NJDOL
Waiting period	No law.	90 days of employment to use it; 30 days of work in a year to qualify. § 246	None. FAQ	90 calendar days. L&I	Up to the 90th calendar day. § 23-372	Up to 120 days. NJDOL FAQ
Carryover	No law.	Yes, up to the accrual cap; not needed under an up-front plan. § 246	Yes, all of it; use limited to the yearly amount. § 196-b(6)	Up to 40 hours. L&I	Yes, within the yearly limits, or a payout at year's end. § 23-372	Up to 40 hours. NJDOL
Employer size rule	None.	None: every employer. § 246	Yes: 4 or fewer, 5 to 99, 100 or more, and net income. § 196-b(1)	None. L&I	Yes: fewer than 15, or 15 or more. § 23-372	None: all sizes. NJDOL
Documentation	No law.	Not a condition of the leave. FAQ	May not require confidential information. § 196-b(5)	Only for absences exceeding 3 days, under a written policy. L&I	Not on the statute page we read; ask the Industrial Commission.	For 3 or more consecutive days. NJDOL
Where to complain	The Wage and Hour Division, for FMLA leave only.	Labor Commissioner's Office: a wage claim; a retaliation complaint within 1 year.	NYS Department of Labor, 888-469-7365.	Department of Labor & Industries, within 3 years.	Industrial Commission of Arizona; a civil action within 2 years.	NJ Division of Wage and Hour Compliance, 609-292-2305.

Tip. Paid or unpaid? Every state in the table pays sick leave at your normal rate, with one exception: a New York employer with 4 or fewer employees and net income of $1 million or less gives 40 hours unpaid. The calculator shows which applies when you pick the employer's size.

What you can use paid sick time for

The state laws cover more than your own flu. Each lists its permitted uses, and the path below matches yours to the states' rules. Labor Commissioner's Office FAQ · N.Y. Lab. Law § 196-b(4) · Washington L&I · NJDOL

Your own illness, injury or health condition, including diagnosis, treatment and preventive care such as check-ups: a permitted use in California, New York, Washington and New Jersey. Arizona's list is in its own statute; ask the Industrial Commission.
A family member's illness or care: covered in California, New York, Washington and New Jersey. California's family members are the employee's parent, child, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling or designated person.
Safe time after violence: California (qualifying acts of violence), New York (domestic violence, a family offense, a sexual offense, stalking or human trafficking), Washington (under the Domestic Violence Leave Act) and New Jersey (domestic or sexual violence).
A closure: Washington covers the closure of your workplace or your child's school or place of care by a public official for a health-related reason; New Jersey covers a school or workplace closure for a public health emergency and school meetings. California's paid sick leave list does not include closures.
Jury duty and court: since 2025, California lets you use sick leave for jury duty and a court appearance in response to a subpoena.

Watch out. Misuse can be punished. New York's Labor Department says an employer may discipline an employee who uses leave for purposes other than those in the law, or who lies to the employer about it. Use sick time for what the law lists.

Quick guide

Can you use paid sick time for this?

1. What do you need the time for?

Answer one or two questions to see which rule applies.

Rehearse the conversation

It points to the part of this page that fits, in the page's own words. Nothing you choose is saved or sent. Not legal advice.

If your boss won't pay sick time: what to do and what to say

Count what you have earned. Use the calculator at the top: your hours worked this year at your state's rate, minus what you have used. Keep every pay stub and your schedule.
Give notice the way the law allows. Tell your employer you are using sick leave: in advance when it is planned, as soon as practical when it is not. New York requires only an oral or written request before the leave. You do not have to find someone to cover your shift in California or New York.
Ask for the refusal in writing. A short email saying when you were sick, the hours you asked for and the answer you got is the record a claim is built on.
File a claim for the unpaid hours. In California, a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner's Office, online, by email, by mail or in person. In New York, call the Department of Labor at 888-469-7365; failing to provide sick leave is treated like failing to pay wages. In Washington, a worker rights complaint with L&I within 3 years. In Arizona, an administrative complaint with the Industrial Commission. In New Jersey, the wage complaint form online, or 609-292-2305. In Texas, if a written policy promised paid sick leave, a wage claim under the Texas Payday Law with the Texas Workforce Commission.
Report retaliation separately. Being fired, cut or disciplined for using sick time is illegal in all five states. California: a retaliation complaint within 1 year of the act. Washington: within 180 days. Arizona: adverse action within 90 days of using your rights is presumed to be retaliation. See wrongful termination.

“If you don't come in tomorrow, don't bother coming back.”

You can say: “I'm sick and I'm using the paid sick leave I've earned under state law. Punishing me for that is retaliation, and I'd like your answer in writing.”

“Find someone to cover your shift first.”

In California or New York, you can say: “The law says you can't make finding a replacement a condition of my sick leave.”

“Bring a doctor's note or it's unpaid.”

In California, you can say: “My sick leave isn't conditioned on a doctor's note. I'll give you notice as the law requires.”

“We don't do paid sick days here.”

In California, New York, Arizona or New Jersey, you can say: “State law gives me 1 hour for every 30 hours I work. I've earned the hours; please pay them.”

“You're part-time, so you don't get sick leave.”

You can say: “Part-time employees earn sick leave too. It accrues from my hours worked.”

Tip. Too sick to argue? Send one line: I'm sick and using my earned sick leave today. The rest can wait until you are back.

Getting help

Sick leave claims sit next to wage claims, and free legal aid can review both. If you were fired for calling in sick, or your last paycheck is short, the pages below cover what comes next.

Find a lawyer or free legal aidLegal aid and state bar referral services, with first-consultation prices.FMLA leaveUnpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition: who qualifies and how to apply.Wrongful terminationWhen a firing is illegal, and the deadlines to complain.Your final paycheckWhen your last pay is due, and what must be in it.Minimum wageFederal and state rates, and where to report unpaid wages.

Common questions

Do I accrue sick time if I work part-time?

Yes, in California, New York, Washington, Arizona and New Jersey: sick leave accrues from hours worked, so part-time, per diem and temporary workers earn it at the same rate. In California you qualify after 30 days of work in a year and can use it after 90 days.

Can my employer ask for a doctor's note?

In California, paid sick leave is not conditioned on medical certification, and an employer may not deny it solely for lack of a note. Washington allows verification only for absences exceeding 3 days, under a written policy; New Jersey for 3 or more consecutive days. New York bars demands for confidential information.

Can I be fired for calling in sick?

Not for using sick leave the law gives you: California, New York, Washington, Arizona and New Jersey all prohibit retaliation, and Arizona presumes retaliation when adverse action comes within 90 days of your using your rights. Misusing sick leave, or lying about it, can still be disciplined. See wrongful termination.

Do unused sick days get paid out when I leave?

Not in California, unlike vacation, unless your employer's policy provides for a payout; if the same employer rehires you within 12 months, your balance comes back. New York's law does not require a payout either. In Texas, the written policy decides. See your final paycheck.

Can I use sick leave to care for my child?

Yes: California, New York, Washington and New Jersey all cover a family member's illness or care, and a child is a family member in each. California's list also includes a parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling or a designated person.

What if I work in two states?

California's law counts work done in California for an employer. Ask your employer which state's policy it applies to you, keep your own count of hours worked in each state, and complain to the agency of the state where the hours were worked.

How much sick leave do I get in California?

You earn 1 hour per 30 hours worked and must be allowed to use at least 40 hours or 5 days a year, whichever is more. Your employer can cap the balance you carry at 80 hours or 10 days, or give the full amount up front each year.

Is there paid sick leave in Texas or Florida?

No state law requires it, and both states bar cities and counties from requiring it. If your employer's written policy promises paid sick days, Texas enforces that policy through the Texas Payday Law.

Official sources

This page explains the law in general terms. It is not legal advice about your situation. Justice is not a law firm and is not affiliated with any court or government agency.