Construction paid sick leave laws by state in 2026

Running a construction crew comes with no shortage of compliance hurdles. Paid sick leave is one more element to keep track of, and it’s not always easy to pin down.

Is sick leave required for construction companies? This guide answers that question by breaking down paid sick leave laws by state, why they matter for construction HR teams, and what they look like in practice. Contractors will also learn about the complications legislation adds for multi-state crews, plus how to design a sick leave policy that checks all the regulatory boxes.

What is sick leave vs. paid sick leave?

Sick leave is an employee benefit or right allowing time off for personal or family illness, injury, or healthcare. Depending on the jurisdiction, qualifying safety and security (“safe-time”) reasons may also apply, like domestic violence or sexual assault. Under federal employment law, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees unpaid leave for eligible employees at covered employers.

Paid sick leave is the right to take time off for qualifying reasons without having to sacrifice a paycheck. Like lunch break and overtime laws, it’s a protection designed to prevent burnout and protect worker health.

Is paid sick leave mandated in construction?

Federal regulations don’t require private construction employers to offer paid sick leave. However, contractors on federal construction contracts covered by Executive Order 13706 must provide up to seven days (56 hours) of paid sick leave per year, accrued at one hour per 30 hours worked. Collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) may also lay out their own paid leave guidelines, even in states without sick leave regulations.

Paid sick leave laws most often appear at the state and local levels. Twenty-one states and Washington, D.C. have statewide legislation in place, and Pennsylvania is covered only through local ordinances in Allegheny County, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.. Several cities and counties (including New York City and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania) require paid sick leave as well. For multi-state crews and public works projects, contractors must track different accrual rates and usage caps for the same crew based on each job’s location, not where the workers live.

Why paid sick leave laws matter for construction HR teams

Accurately answering the question, “Is sick leave paid?” for each jobsite has several benefits for contractors:

• Avoid penalties and lawsuits: States can levy penalties for noncompliance with mandatory sick leave laws. Employees can also bring their own lawsuits over unpaid leave, retaliation, or wage violations.
• Protect bidding eligibility on public works projects: Public works contracts may layer paid leave requirements for fringe packages on top of prevailing wage and certified payroll requirements. Contractors that don’t satisfy them can be debarred from bidding on future projects.
• Manage union and CBA requirements: State rules often provide exemptions for employers who follow CBAs. For example, construction workers in California are exempt if their agreement provides alternative paid time off rules, sets specific hourly wages, and explicitly waives state leave laws.
• Build HR credibility with field employees: Paid sick time is a sought-after benefit that helps contractors stand out in the job market and keep skilled labor on the payroll.
• Reduce absenteeism and presenteeism costs: Clear policies for time off limit illness-related productivity dips and jobsite disruptions from sick workers coming into work when they should be at home or staying at home when they could perform modified duty.

How does paid sick leave work?

Paid sick leave laws change depending on the state, but they’re all based on the same core mechanics:

• Accrual rates and frontloading: Jurisdictions often base accrual on hours worked. The most common ratio is one hour of sick leave earned for every 30 hours worked. Other jurisdictions let employers frontload the full annual balance instead.
• Annual usage caps: Employers can place limits on how many earned sick leave hours workers use each year. However, these caps can’t be lower than the minimum set by each state.
• Waiting periods: Employees may be able to use paid sick time immediately, or they might need a certain amount of tenure first.
• Qualifying reasons for leave: Eligible events vary by jurisdiction, but common qualifying reasons include personal illness, public health emergencies, and safe-time uses related to domestic violence or sexual assault.
• Carryover and rollover caps: Leave balances generally carry over to the following year, subject to usage maximums. Some states allow employees to bank accrued but unused hours beyond the usage cap, though local laws may govern this amount.
• Payout on separation rules: Most states’ sick leave laws don’t require employers to pay out unused sick balances when an employee stops working for the company. This serves as a key cost distinction between sick leave and standard PTO or vacation time.

States with mandatory paid sick leave laws

Here’s a breakdown of the states with paid sick leave required by law, together with their accrual rate and usage cap rules. The table below reflects the best available information as of the time of writing.

*Law covers paid time off for any reason, not just sick leave.

States without mandatory paid sick leave laws

The following states don’t have statewide legislation governing paid sick leave:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

That said, local ordinances may still apply to employers with crews in these states. For contracts covered by Executive Order 13706, federal sick leave requirements apply no matter the state. CBAs may come with their own rules.

How to design a paid sick leave policy that holds up: 5 steps

Here’s how to craft a policy that works across jobsites and even across state lines, broken down into five simple steps.

1. Choose between accrual-based and frontloaded policies.

Frontloading has a different operational reality than accrual:

• Accrual-based systems require continuous tracking because employees earn their leave incrementally based on hours worked. While this creates a heavier burden for HR, it lowers the immediate financial risk of lost productivity because employees can’t use all their time at once early in the year.
• Frontloading systems grant the entire annual leave balance at the start of the year. This simplifies administrative tracking, but it carries the risk that an employee may use their entire allotment early in the year then stop working for the company. 

2. Decide whether to standardize or get specific.

Some multi-state contractors are comfortable with the tradeoff of a single sick leave policy that meets the requirements of the strictest state the contractor works in. For example, if a New England contractor has crews in Maine (1:40 accrual rate) and Vermont (1:52 accrual rate), they may choose to apply Maine’s rate even for Vermont workers to simplify calculations.

Other contractors prefer the precision and cost savings of tailoring policies to each jurisdiction, even though the administrative time is higher. This approach prevents a contractor from accidentally granting more leave than required by law. It also ensures labor costs remain strictly aligned with the local law governing each project.

3. Integrate sick leave with payroll and time tracking.

Connect payroll and time tracking systems with a construction-focused software solution to take a lot of the heavy lifting out of managing paid sick leave requirements. It can help with accrual calculations, pay stub updates, and balance tracking. By replacing manual data entry and disconnected spreadsheets with a single platform, this integration syncs field hours with payroll logic. This eliminates costly calculation errors and hours of tedious administrative work.

4. Train supervisors and managers on leave compliance.

Ensure field supervisors understand what counts as a qualifying reason for leave. This includes standard illnesses like the flu, preventative medical care like doctor’s appointments, and time off to care for a sick family member. 

Supervisors should also know who they can turn to if they need to escalate a request. This may include an HR manager or project manager. Reinforce that state sick leave laws prohibit retaliation for using earned leave, including termination or demotion, and the U.S. Department of Labor enforces the same protection on covered federal contracts.

5. Document policies, notices, and employee balances.

Give each new hire a copy of paid sick leave policies in writing, and post current required notices for existing employees. Keep accrual and usage records for at least three years, and show available sick leave balances on pay stubs or a written notice each pay period where states like California require it.

Track multi-state leave compliance without the hard work.

Paid sick leave compliance grows in complexity with the number of jobsites spanning different states, cities, and public works projects. Working in New York one day and Pennsylvania the next might mean totally different requirements overnight.

Miter reins in that complexity. As a construction-first provider, Miter unites HR, payroll, and workforce management in a unified platform to simplify operations. Apply state-specific sick leave rules based on where crews work instead of relying on manual tracking or broad policies. Then, let the software accrue earned leave automatically from the timesheet hours tied to each job’s location and show current balances on pay stubs.

Simplify multi-state laws and regulations without breaking a sweat with Miter Compliance.