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At Wrapbook, we pride ourselves on providing outstanding free resources to producers and their crews, but this post is for informational purposes only as of the date above. The content on our website is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, accounting, or tax advice. You should consult with your own legal, accounting, or tax advisors to determine how this general information may apply to your specific circumstances.
Paid sick leave laws ensure that employees are able to take adequate time off of work to address health concerns. Though there are currently no federal paid sick leave laws in effect within the United States, the provision of paid sick leave is nonetheless an important component of national labor regulation.
Paid sick leave laws are mandated on a state-by-state basis and affect industries of all types. This includes film production.
If you’re planning a shoot anywhere in the U.S., understanding paid sick leave laws is an absolutely essential pre-production task. To help you speed up the process, we’ve put together a comprehensive overview of paid sick leave requirements by state.
We’ve also included direct links to further information and important points of contact. That said, this post is not a replacement for legal consultation.
Alabama does not currently require the provision of paid or unpaid sick leave. However, eligible employees may be entitled to limited protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which requires certain employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, employment-protected leave to eligible employees for select family or medical reasons.
For more information, contact the Alabama Department of Labor.
Alaska law, effective July 1, 2025, mandates paid sick leave for all employees in the state. Employees accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers with 15 or more employees must allow accrual and use of up to 56 hours per year, while those with fewer than 15 employees must allow up to 40 hours per year.
Eligible employees may also have access to unpaid leave under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act in certain situations. For the most detailed and up-to-date information, please contact the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The Arizona paid sick leave law known as the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act requires all Arizona employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees.
When working for employers with 15 or more employees, individual employees are entitled to accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked but are not entitled to either accrue or use more than 40 hours of paid sick time per year, except if the employer sets a higher limit.
When working for employers with fewer than 15 employees, individual employees are entitled to accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked but are not entitled to either accrue or use more than 24 hours of paid sick time per year, unless the employer sets a higher limit.
For more information, check out this Earned Paid Sick Time FAQ sheet or contact the Industrial Commission of Arizona.
The state of Arkansas currently enforces no law requiring the provision of paid or unpaid sick leave to employees. However, limited leave protection under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act may be accessible to eligible employees.
For more information, contact the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing.
California's paid sick leave law, as updated in 2024, requires employers to provide employees with at least 40 hours (or five days) of paid sick leave per year.
Employees earn at least one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a minimum accrual cap of 80 hours (10 days). Employers can also limit the amount of paid sick leave an employee uses in a year to 40 hours (five days).
This law generally applies to employees who work in California for at least 30 days in a given year. A temporary supplemental paid sick leave law related to the COVID-19 pandemic (S.B. 114) has now expired.
For the most current information on California's paid sick leave laws, please check the California Paid Sick Leave FAQ or contact the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency.
Colorado sick time laws, under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, requires all employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees, accrued at a rate of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
Employees begin accruing paid sick leave when their employment begins, and unused time may carry forward to be used in subsequent calendar years, although employers can set a reasonable limit on the amount of leave carried over.
For more detailed and up-to-date information, contact the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Connecticut paid sick leave law allows employees to earn one hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours accrued in a single year. Employees may further carry over a maximum of 40 unused hours year-over-year.
Additional leave protections may be available under Connecticut’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows employees to take necessary time off to attend to family medical or safety issues.
For more information, contact the State of Connecticut Department of Labor.
There are currently no active paid sick leave laws in the state of Delaware. However, eligible employees may be entitled to limited protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the Delaware Department of Labor.
Paid sick leave laws in Washington D.C. require employers to provide paid leave to most employees. Employees begin accruing leave on their first day of employment and can begin using their accrued leave after only 90 days of work. According to Know Your Rights DC, the exact number of hours an employee can accrue and the rate at which they can accrue them both vary according to the size of your employer and time scope of your employment:
For more information, contact the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services.
There are currently no paid sick leave laws active in the state of Florida. Limited leave protection by the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act may be accessible to eligible employees under select circumstances.
For more information, contact the Florida Governor’s Office.
The state of Georgia does not currently require private employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave. Limited leave protection under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act may be accessible to eligible employees.
For more information, contact the Georgia Department of Labor.
Hawaii law, effective January 1, 2024, requires employers to provide paid sick leave to most employees. Employees accrue this leave at a rate of one hour for every 35 hours worked, up to a maximum of 80 hours per year.
While the state now mandates paid leave, eligible employees may still be entitled to limited unpaid leave protections under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. For the most current information, contact the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
In Idaho, there are currently no labor laws requiring that employers provide paid or unpaid sick leave time to employees of any type. However, limited leave protection under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act may be accessible to eligible employees.
For more information, contact the Idaho Department of Labor.
Illinois now has a statewide Paid Leave for All Workers Act, which went into effect on January 1, 2024. This law requires employers to provide employees with at least one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked.
Unlike the previous sick leave law, this paid leave can be used for any reason, not just illness, and there is no limit on the total amount of leave an employee can accrue, although employers can set a reasonable limit on the amount of unused leave that can be carried over from year to year.
It's important to note that the City of Chicago also has its own Paid Sick Leave ordinance, which may provide more generous benefits than the state law.
The Chicago ordinance requires employers to provide paid sick leave to employees who work at least 80 hours for an employer in Chicago within any 120-day period, accruing at a rate of one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours accrued within a 12-month period.
The Illinois Employee Sick Leave Act, requiring employers to allow the use of existing sick leave to care for certain relatives, remains in effect.
For the most comprehensive and up-to-date information, it is recommended to contact the Illinois Department of Labor and the City of Chicago's Office of Labor Standards.
Indiana labor law only requires that employers pay employees for actual time worked. Employees do not have the protection of unpaid or paid sick leave laws. Limited leave protection by the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act may be accessible to eligible employees under select circumstances.
For more information, contact the Indiana Department of Labor.
The state of Iowa currently enforces no regulations requiring the provision of paid or unpaid time off for being sick. However, eligible employees may be entitled to limited protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act..
For more information, contact the Iowa Division of Labor.
Kansas labor laws do not require employers to offer any kind of paid leave, neither for vacation nor medical purposes. However, limited leave protection under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act may be accessible to eligible employees.
For more information, contact the Kansas Department of Labor.
There are currently no paid safe or sick leave laws active in the state of Kentucky. Eligible employees may be entitled to certain leave protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the Commonwealth of Kentucky Labor Cabinet.
The state of Louisiana currently enforces no paid sick leave laws. However, limited leave protection under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act may be accessible to eligible employees.
For more information, contact the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
Maine’s Earned Paid Leave law requires employers with more than 10 employees in Maine for more than 120 days in any calendar year to provide paid leave time.
Employees accrue one hour of earned paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours accrued in a single year. The law applies to employees of all types.
For more information, check out this Maine Earned Paid Leave fact sheet or contact the State of Main Department of Labor directly.
The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act requires that employers with 15 or more employees provide paid sick and safe leave and that employers with 14 or fewer employees provide unpaid sick and safe leave.
Earned sick and safe leave may be either awarded as a lump sum at the beginning of the year or accrued in increments over the course of the year at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours an employee works.
For more information, check out the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act FAQ or contact the Maryland Department of Labor.
Earned sick time laws in the state of Massachusetts require all employers with 11 or more employees to provide paid sick leave time up to a rate of 40 hours of paid sick time per calendar year. The state similarly requires employers with fewer employees to provide unpaid sick leave time at a rate of up to 40 hours per calendar year.
Employees of all types are eligible for earned sick time, including temporary and seasonal employees. Paid sick time may be accrued at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked.
For more information, check out this compilation of Massachusetts sick leave law resources or contact the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Paid sick leave laws in Michigan require employers who employ 50 or more individuals to provide paid sick leave rights to their employees. Paid medical leave is accrued at a rate of one hour for every 35 hours worked, but “an employer is not required to allow accrual of over one hour in a calendar week or more than 40 hours in a benefit year.”
Employees may carry over up to 40 hours of unused paid leave from one benefit year to the next, but employers are not required to allow employees to use more than 40 hours in a single benefit year.
For more information, contact the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
While Minnesota did not have a statewide sick leave regulation in place previously, a new law establishing statewide earned sick and safe time went into effect on January 1, 2024. This law requires all employers in Minnesota, regardless of size, to provide earned sick and safe time to their employees.
Under the new statewide law, employees accrue at least one hour of earned sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours of accrual per year, unless the employer sets a higher limit.
This leave can be used for various reasons, including the employee's or a family member's illness, injury, or need for medical care, as well as for absences related to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking.
It's important to note that the City of Duluth and the City of St. Paul both had their own Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) ordinances prior to the statewide law. With the implementation of the state law, these local ordinances may be superseded or may offer additional benefits. Employers in Duluth and St. Paul should ensure they are complying with the most generous provisions.
For more information on the current statewide Earned Sick and Safe Time law and its interaction with local ordinances, contact the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.
Mississippi does not require employers to provide any paid sick leave to their employees. Eligible employees may be entitled to limited leave protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
The state of Missouri currently maintains no paid or unpaid sick leave laws. However, eligible employees may be entitled to limited protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the Missouri Department of Labor & Industrial Relations.
There are currently no paid sick leave laws active in the state of Montana. Limited leave protection under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act may be accessible to eligible employees.
For more information, contact the Montana Department of Labor & Industry.
The state of Nebraska currently enforces no paid sick leave regulations, though certain employees may have leave protection under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the Nebraska Department of Labor.
Paid sick leave laws in Nevada require every employer with “not less than 50 employees” to provide paid leave to each employee. Employees are entitled to “at least 0.01923 hours of paid leave for each hour of work performed”, and unused paid leave is required to carry over year-to-year up to a maximum of 40 hours per benefit year.
For more information, contact the Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner.
New Hampshire currently has no state-mandated paid sick leave requirements. However, eligible employees may be entitled to limited protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act or through the Granite State Paid Family and Medical Leave Plan, which is a voluntary insurance program that went into effect on January 1, 2023, offering paid leave for qualifying family and medical reasons, but not specifically for routine sick leave.
For more information, contact the New Hampshire Department of Labor.
Paid sick leave laws in New Jersey entitle employees to accrue one hour of earned sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours of leave per benefit year. With their employers’ consent, employees may have the further right to work additional hours to compensate for work missed rather than use their accrued sick leave.
For more information, contact the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
In New Mexico, the Healthy Workplaces Act of 2021 requires all private employers to allow their employees to accrue and use “earned sick leave”. Employees accrue one hour of earned sick leave for every 30 hours worked unless their employer chooses a higher accrual rate. Unused sick leave may extend year-to-year, but employers are not required to permit more than 64 hours of such leave to carry over.
For more information, contact the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.
Paid sick leave laws in New York differ significantly between New York State and New York City.
The New York State sick leave (NYSSL) law requires that paid sick leave be provided by employers with five or more employees or a net income of more than $1 million and that unpaid sick leave be provided by employers with fewer than five employees and a net income of $1 million or less. New York State paid sick leave time must be accrued at a minimum rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked.
NYC sick leave law expands coverage to include safe leave, which provides covered employees the right to use accrued time for the care of either themselves or a family member for safety reasons in addition to health. For further details, check out the NYC paid sick leave FAQ.
For more information, contact the New York Department of Labor.
In North Carolina, there are no paid sick leave laws currently in place. Unless an employee is eligible for coverage under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act, they can be legally terminated or otherwise punished for missing work due to medical needs.
For more information, contact the North Carolina Department of Labor.
The state of North Dakota has thus far enacted no paid safe and sick leave laws. However, eligible employees may be entitled to certain leave protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights.
The state of Ohio currently enforces no paid sick leave laws, though eligible employees may still be entitled to limited protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the Ohio Department of Commerce.
Oklahoma does not maintain any paid sick leave requirements by state-mandate. However, eligible employees may be entitled to certain leave protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
It's important to note that a new Oklahoma state law will go into effect on October 1, 2025, requiring employers to provide paid sick leave.
Under this law, employees will accrue at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, with annual usage limits of 40 hours for small businesses and 56 hours for other employers.
This leave can be used for the employee's or a family member's illness, medical care, or preventative care, as well as for absences related to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking.
For more information about current regulations and the upcoming changes, contact the Oklahoma Department of Labor.
Paid sick leave laws in Oregon require that employers with 10 or more employees (six or more if they’re located in the city of Portland) provide paid sick leave. In other cases, sick leave time is still required but may be unpaid.
Employees accrue at least one hour of sick time for 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours of accrued sick leave per year. Employers may alternatively choose to provide 40 hours or more of sick leave as a lump sum at the beginning of the year.
For more information, contact the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries.
Pennsylvania currently enforces no paid sick leave requirements by state-mandate. However, the City of Philadelphia does require that employers with 10 or more employees provide paid sick leave. Employers with nine or fewer employees are required to pay unpaid sick leave.
For more information, check out the City of Philadelphia’s sick leave information page or contact the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.
Rhode Island’s Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act mandates that “all employees employed by an employer of eighteen (18) or more employees in Rhode Island shall accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick and safe leave time for every thirty-five (35) hours worked.”
Employees are capped at a maximum of 40 hours of paid sick and safe leave accrued per year unless their employer decides to set a higher limit “in both accrual and use.”
Employers with fewer than 18 employees are still required to provide sick and safe leave time, but it is not required that this time be paid.
For more information, contact the State of Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training or check out their Paid Sick and Safe Leave FAQ.
To date, the state of South Carolina has enacted no paid sick leave laws. Eligible employees may still be entitled to limited protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation.
South Dakota currently maintains no paid sick leave requirements by state-mandate. The state considers sick leave entirely a matter of employer policy. However, select employees may be entitled to limited leave protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation.
The state of Tennessee does not currently require employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave of any kind. Select employees may have limited leave protection options under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
There are currently no Texas laws requiring that employers provide sick leave, paid or unpaid. However, eligible employees may have limited leave protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the Texas Workforce Commission.
Utah does not currently maintain any paid sick leave requirements by state-mandate, though certain employees may have leave protection under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the Utah Labor Commission.
The Earned Sick Time Law in Vermont entitles employees to earn 40 hours per year of paid leave after January 1, 2019.” Employees may earn paid sick time either based on the time they work or as a lump sum provided on an annual basis, depending on the preference of their employer.
For more information, contact the State of Vermont Department of Labor.
Virginia has a paid sick leave law that currently applies specifically to home health aides working for Medicaid providers. For these eligible employees, the law stipulates that they shall accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
However, eligible employees in other industries may have limited leave protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry.
Paid sick leave requirements by state-mandate in Washington guarantee both the provision of paid sick leave and minimum requirements for employers’ paid sick leave policies.
According to the Washing State Department of Labor & Industries, “at a minimum, employees must be provided one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked.” Washington state paid sick leave laws further mandate that employers provide paid sick leave to all employees, regardless of their employment status (full-time, part-time, etc.).
For more information, reach out to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.
The state of West Virginia does not currently maintain any paid sick leave laws that require employers to provide employees with sick leave benefits.
For more information, contact the West Virginia Division of Labor.
There are currently no paid sick leave requirements by state-mandate within Wisconsin, though the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does guarantee unpaid leave for eligible employees.
The FMLA provides leave for the serious health condition of an employee, their parent, child, or spouse. Under Wisconsin law, a “serious health condition” refers to “a disabling physical or mental illness, injury, impairment, or condition involving inpatient care or outpatient care that requires continuing treatment or supervision by a healthcare provider.”
Standard Wisconsin family medical leave is unpaid. However, the FMLA stipulates that “the employee must be allowed to substitute accrued paid or unpaid leave of any other type the employer provides.”
For more information, contact the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
The state of Wyoming does not currently maintain any paid sick leave laws that require employers to provide employees with sick leave benefits. Eligible employees may still be entitled to limited protections under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
For more information, contact the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.
Understanding paid sick leave laws is crucial for smooth and compliant film productions across the United States. By staying informed and consulting official resources, producers can better protect their crews and avoid costly setbacks. Always remember: when in doubt, seek legal guidance to ensure full compliance.
To learn more about critical labor requirements, check out our producer’s guide to new employment laws in California or our breakdown of required startwork documents by state.
