EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS BY STATE Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. Select a state below to view state specific laws regarding the different types of employee leaves. Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Colombia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Please note that the information in this document focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities and counties across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employee leave. This document was updated 1/3/2020. Laws frequently change. Verify state laws with the local Department of Labor to ensure accuracy. Provided By Helpside, Inc. Employee Leave Laws—Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Alabama has employee leave laws regarding: STATE RESOURCES • Jury duty leave; • Alabama Department of Military leave; and • Voting leave. Labor https://www.labor.alabama. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of gov/ Alabama’s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE REQUIREMENTS Employers must provide employees summoned for jury duty with paid time off in order to serve as jurors. Employees are required to provide their employers with their jury summons the next working day after the employees receive them. An employer may not require an employee to use annual, vacation, Jury Duty Leave unpaid leave, or sick leave for time spent serving as a juror. The employer may be able to deduct wages the employee received for serving as a juror from the employee’s compensation. An employer may not discharge or subject an employee to any adverse employment action due to serving as a juror, provided the employee returns to work following dismissal from jury duty. In addition to the federal law USERRA, Alabama law provides military members with paid leave for days they are engaged in the field, coast defense or other training or service ordered under federal laws Military Leave governing the U.S. Reserves. An employer is required to pay no more than 168 hours per calendar year to an employee called into active state service. Upon return from leave, the employee may not suffer loss of time, efficiency rating, annual leave or sick leave. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general 1 informational purposes only. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. © 2015-2018 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 3/18 Employee Leave Laws—Overview Employees who are registered to vote must be permitted to take necessary time off from work, up to one hour, to vote in any municipal, county, state or federal primary or general election. Employees must provide reasonable notice to their employers if they require time Voting Leave off to vote. The employer may specify the hours of leave. However, if an employee’s work schedule begins at least two hours after the polls open, or ends at least one hour prior to the polls closing, the employee is not eligible for voting leave. SPECIAL NOTE: Alabama law requires private employers to pay employees for military leave. However, the Supreme Court of Alabama has held that the statute violates the Alabama Constitution (White v. Associated Industries of Alabama). Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous local ordinances have been enacted across the country mandating employers to provide employees with paid sick leave. An employer located in a city or county with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Alabama employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with these leaves. Employers that violate federal or state leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits, and significant penalties, fees, and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: • Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; • Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; • Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; • Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and • Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general 2 informational purposes only. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. © 2015-2018 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 3/18 Provided By Helpside, Inc. Employee Leave Laws—Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Alaska has employee leave laws regarding: STATE RESOURCES • Jury duty leave; Alaska Department of • Voting leave; and Labor and Workforce • Military leave. Development This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of http://labor.alaska.gov/ Alaska’s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for Alaska employers. FAQs OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS Alaska provides these answers to frequently asked questions regarding jury TYPE OF LEAVE REQUIREMENTS duty. Employers must grant employees unpaid leave for jury duty. An employer cannot terminate, threaten, coerce or penalize Jury Duty Leave Poster an employee who responds to a jury summons, serves as a Employers can use these juror or attends court for prospective jury service. model posters to satisfy their posting requirements. Employers must grant employees paid leave to vote in a state election, unless the employee has two consecutive hours of Voting Leave non-working time, either between the opening of the polls and the start of his or her shift, or between the close of the polls and the end of his or her shift. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general 1 informational purposes only. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. © 2015, 2017-2018 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AMS 6/18 Employee Leave Laws—Overview In addition to USERRA, Alaska law provides the following employment protections to members of the organized state militia (which consists of the Alaska National Guard, Alaska Naval Militia and Alaska State Defense Force): • Unlimited unpaid leave for members of the organized state militia when called to active state service; • Reinstatement to their former positions (or comparable positions of similar pay, Military Leave seniority and benefit level) upon release from active state service (or discharge due to hospitalization that arose from active service); and • Employees who sustain disabilities due to active service and are no longer qualified for their previous positions are entitled to comparable positions, provided that employees request reemployment within 30 days of being released to full-time work by physicians. Employers cannot discriminate against members of the state National Guard or naval militia in employment based on their memberships. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Alaska employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with these leaves. Employers that violate