New Paid Sick Leave Laws Take Effect in July - Are You in Compliance?

In July 2017, new paid sick leave laws take effect in several cities and states, including Chicago, Minneapolis, and Arizona, among others. In a few other cities with existing paid sick leave, such as Los Angeles, the laws expand to apply to small employers. 

The new laws come after a wave of other paid sick leave requirements went into effect in January 2017, in Vermont, Santa Monica, California and Spokane, Washington. These 2017 laws follow recently enacted paid sick leave laws in California, Massachusetts, San Francisco, and numerous other jurisdictions.

These state and city laws differ from one another in important ways. For multistate employers, a uniform sick leave policy can be difficult to prepare, and compliance can be challenging. For example, each law mandates its own accrual rate that determines how quickly employees can collect and use paid sick leave. Furthermore, rules vary for using sick leave that are much broader than traditional “sick days.” Many of these laws also include leave for caring for family members or seeking services for victims of domestic violence and other crimes, and even leave for childcare in some situations. 

Employers should review their paid time off and sick leave policies to ensure they are in compliance with current law, and to prepare for the July 2017 laws. Please contact the attorneys of Honigman’s Labor and Employment practice group for more information about paid sick leave compliance, and visit the practice group’s blog, the Employer’s Wage and Hour Advisor.