What Employers Can Expect: State Requirements for Paid Leave and Time Off

• December 17, 2025

By Paige McAllister

Paid time off is a common benefit offered by many companies to their employees as part of their total compensation package. While federal law does not require any such paid time off, many states have regulations that require employers to offer employees paid time off or paid leaves of absence in some form.

Here is an overview of regulations on sick, family and medical leave, along with highlights of recent or upcoming changes.

Sick Time

While federal law does not mandate sick time, some states require employers to provide certain employees paid sick time for covered reasons, such as their own or a family member’s diagnosis or treatment of a health condition or preventative care. These states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Washington, D.C. In addition, Illinois, Maine and Nevada offer similar time-off policies that employees can use for any purpose.

Some recent or upcoming changes by state include:

Alaska: New paid sick time. Effective July 1, 2025, all employers must provide all employees, including full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees, with paid sick time, accrued at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. Sick time can be capped based on the company’s total number of employees. The cap for employers with 14 or fewer employees is 40 hours, and for those with 15 or more employees, the cap is 56 hours.

Any unused sick time must carry over into the next benefit year with no cap or loss of benefit.  Employees can use this sick time for covered reasons and cannot be required to provide documentation for absences shorter than three days.

Maine: Increases to paid time amounts. Effective Sept. 24, 2025, employees can accrue up to 40 hours of paid time off in a benefit year and can carry over up to 40 hours of unused paid time off into the following benefit year. However, employers can cap an employee’s total balance to only 40 hours.

Under the changes, employees will be able to accrue up to 40 hours in addition to carrying over up to 40 hours, which means they could have a balance of up to 80 hours after two years of accrual with no use.

Missouri: Sick leave law rescinded. The new law, which went into effect May 1, 2025, and required private employers to provide paid sick time to all employees within the state, was rescinded as of Aug. 28, 2025. Any sick time accrued during this period must be provided, but no additional time must be accrued or provided.

Nebraska: New sick leave law. Effective Oct. 1, 2025, under the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplace Act (HFWA), employers with 11 to 19 employees must provide up to 40 hours of sick time to all employees who work at least 80 hours for their company, and employers with 20 or more employees must provide up to 56 hours of paid sick time each year.

Accrual starts after the employee completes 80 hours of employment. Employees must be allowed to carry over all unused sick time into the next benefit year. Employers with 10 or fewer employees are currently exempt from providing sick time.

Oregon: Sick leave expanded to blood donation. Effective Jan. 1, 2026, employees can use paid leave for time off to donate blood.

Washington: Sick leave reasons expanded. Effective July 27, 2025, employees can use mandated sick leave to prepare for or participate in any judicial or administrative immigration proceeding for the employee or their family member. Also, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, employees may use available paid sick time if they or a family member is a victim of a hate crime.

Medical or Family Leave

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), federal law requires all employers with 50 or more employees to offer job- and benefit-protected leave to eligible employees for covered reasons. This time is not paid.

In addition to FMLA, several states mandate additional paid or unpaid leave for employees taking leave for covered reasons. These states include Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Washington, D.C.

Paid Leave Laws

Some recent or upcoming changes by state include:

Colorado: FAMLI revisions. Effective Jan. 1, 2026, employees will be allowed to take an additional 12 weeks in addition to the 12 weeks of bonding time—24 weeks total of FAMLI—if their newborn child is in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Washington: Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML). Several changes will go into effect Jan. 1, 2026, including:

• Job restoration protections for all employees in PFML who have worked 180 days will begin to be phased in. Jan. 1, 2026, the requirement will apply employers with 25 or more employees; Jan. 1, 2027, to employers with 15 or more employees; and Jan. 1, 2028, to employers with 8 or more employees.
• Employers can count time taken under FMLA toward the PFML job restoration protections if they notify the employee of this intention within five days of receiving a request, even if the employee is not receiving PFML benefits.
• Health benefits must be continued for the entirety of PFML, regardless of any FMLA protection.
• Employees can take PFML in increments of at least four consecutive hours.

Delaware: New PFML. Employees who work at least 60% of their time in Delaware, have worked for their employer for 12 months or longer, and have at least 1,250 hours of employment in the past 12 months are eligible for up to 12 weeks a year of paid leave. Payroll deductions started Jan. 1, 2025 and claim submissions begin May 1, 2026.

Employees can use a combination of up to 12 weeks in a lump-sum or intermittently to care for a new child and up to six weeks for their own serious medical condition or injury, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, or to take time when a family member is overseas on a military deployment.

Employees must file through the state’s LaborFirst Claimant Portal for paid benefits but must also provide their employer with advanced notice when possible.

Maine: new PFML. Employees who work in or whose operations are based in Maine are eligible to up to 12 weeks a year of paid leave for family leave, medical leave, safe leave or military family leave. Leave can be taken in a lump sum or intermittently with job protection if they were employed for more than 120 days prior to going on leave.

Payroll deductions started Jan. 1, 2025 and claim submissions begin Jan. 1, 2026. Employees must file through the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Authority and provide their employer with advanced notice when possible.

Maryland: Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program. When implemented, FAMLI will provide eligible employees with job protection and pay replacement of up to $1,000 per week for up to 12 weeks for covered leave. Payroll deductions were delayed until Jan. 1, 2027, with benefits starting Jan. 3, 2028. 

Paige McAllister is vice president, HR compliance, The Workplace Advisors. The Workplace Advisors is the endorsed HR partner of Big “I” Hires, the Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia, Big I New York, and Big I New Jersey. 

The Workplace Advisors can help you stay informed of the leave laws that apply to your employees in all 50 states, as well as other protected paid and unpaid time off, such as jury duty, school activities, victim of crime, or lactation breaks.