Help / Time-off policies

Paid sick leave policy: what it is, state rules, and how to set it up

What a paid sick leave policy is, why the state and city where people work matter, and how to set one up in StartEase block by block, with links to the official state sick leave pages.

EmployersSick7 min

What is a paid sick leave policy?

A paid sick leave policy pays employees when they are ill, need medical care, or care for a family member who is. Most sick policies are earned by hours worked, for example 1 hour for every 30 hours worked.

Why companies offer it

Sick people who stay home do not spread illness.
Many states and cities require it, with their own rules for earning, use, carryover and notice.
A written policy makes the rule the same for everyone.

What the law says, in short

There is no federal paid sick leave requirement. The U.S. Department of Labor says the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires unpaid leave for certain medical situations at covered employers. Paid sick leave rules come from states and cities, so the work location decides them.

State sick leave and this policy

StartEase already tracks paid sick leave by itself for employees in states whose rule is in its rules table. It shows as Paid sick leave (state rule) in your Policies list. You do not need to add a policy for that. Add your own sick policy when you want to give more than the state rule, or cover places it does not.

See the rule StartEase applies in each state: Paid sick leave: the rules StartEase applies, state by state.
Find the official page for your state or city: State and city paid sick leave laws: official government pages.

A sick policy you add stays Not confirmed until a payroll admin checks it against the rules for each work location and selects I checked this policy against the rules for these work locations. Changing a rule later clears that check.

How to set up a sick policy in StartEase

Open Time › Time off and scroll to Policies.
Under Add a policy, choose Sick, then select Add policy.
Fill in each block below. The example is a sample "Sick leave" policy: your company chooses its own numbers.
In Review and turn on, read the summary sentence, ask a payroll admin to confirm the policy for your work locations, and select Turn on this policy.

Basics

The name, the kind of leave, whether it is paid, and what employees read about it. More on this block.

Box	What it means	In this example
Policy name	The name employees see when they ask for time off and on their balances. Required.	"Sick leave"
Kind of leave	What the leave is for. It picks the help link and the extra checks. It does not change how the balance is counted. Required. PTO or vacation: Rest and holidays the employee chooses. Sick: Illness or care. Needs a payroll admin to confirm it before anyone can use it. Floating holiday: A holiday the employee picks. Personal day: A day for anything personal, no reason needed. Bereavement: Time after a family member dies. Jury duty: Time on jury service. Learning and development: Time for a course, exam or training. Parental: Time after a birth, adoption or foster placement. Volunteer: Time to help a charity or the community. Weather or emergency: When the workplace closes. Custom: Anything else, with your own name.	Sick
Pay	Whether the hours are paid. Required. Paid: The employee is paid for the hours, at their usual rate. Unpaid: The hours are recorded but not paid. Unpaid leave reduces pay only where the pay rules allow it, so it does not cut an exempt salary when the rules forbid that.	Paid
Description for employees	Up to 600 characters on My time off: who qualifies and what the leave covers. Keep medical details out.	"For your own illness or care, or to care for a family member. Tell your manager as soon as you can."

Earning

How the balance grows. Nothing is earned until a payroll is approved. More on this block.

Box	What it means	In this example
How it is earned	How the balance grows. Required. By hours worked: The employee earns leave as they work, for example 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. Part-time staff earn less, full-time staff more. A fixed amount each year: Everyone covered gets the same number of hours a year, for example 80. Unlimited (no balance kept): No balance is kept. Each request is still approved and recorded. Use it when the need decides the time, as with jury duty.	By hours worked
Hours earned	Only for "By hours worked". The hours of leave earned, for example 1.	1 Earned as people work, so part-time staff earn their share.
For every this many hours worked	Only for "By hours worked". For example 30: 1 hour of leave for every 30 hours worked.	30 1 for every 30 is a common rate. Check your state and city rule.
Count overtime hours	Only for "By hours worked". Ticked: overtime hours also earn leave. Unticked: only regular hours do.	Unticked Count overtime if your local rule counts all hours worked.
Count paid leave hours	Only for "By hours worked". Ticked: paid PTO and sick hours in the payroll also earn leave.	Unticked
Policy year starts	When caps and carryover are counted again. Not shown for unlimited policies. On the same date for everyone: Every employee's policy year starts on the Month and Day you choose, for example January 1. On each employee's hire date: Each employee's policy year starts on the anniversary of their hire date.	On the same date for everyone
Month	Only for "On the same date for everyone". January to December.	January
Day	Only for "On the same date for everyone". 1 to 31. A day past the end of the month uses the last day.	1

Rules

Waiting periods, negative balances, a yearly use limit and payout at exit. More on this block.

Box	What it means	In this example
Waiting periods are counted in	The unit for the two waiting periods below. Days from the hire date: For example 90 means 90 calendar days after the hire date. Hours worked: For example 80 means after 80 hours worked in approved payrolls.	Days from the hire date
Before earning starts	Not shown for unlimited policies. Nothing is earned before this. Blank for none.	Blank
Before it can be used	Leave can be earned but not taken before this. Blank for none.	Blank
Allow a negative balance	Not shown for unlimited policies. Ticked: an employee may borrow ahead of what they have earned.	Unticked
Most hours that can be used in a policy year	A yearly limit on hours taken. Blank for no limit.	Blank
Pay unused hours in the final paycheck	Not shown for unlimited policies. Ticked: unused hours are paid when someone leaves. Where the work state's rule requires payout, payroll pays it whatever you choose.	Unticked

Caps

Limits on the balance. Not shown for unlimited policies. More on this block.

Box	What it means	In this example
Most hours earned in a policy year	Earning stops for the year at this number. Blank for no cap.	Blank
Most hours the balance can hold	Earning pauses while the balance is at the cap and starts again when leave is used. Blank for no cap.	Blank
Most hours carried into the next policy year	Hours above this are dropped when a new policy year starts. 0 means nothing carries over. Blank carries everything.	40 Up to 40 hours roll over to the next year.

Requests

How employee requests are handled. More on this block.

Box	What it means	In this example
Approve employee requests automatically	Ticked: a request that follows the rules is approved at once. Unticked: the Employer or payroll team approves each one.	Ticked Illness is rarely planned, so requests are approved at once.
Most calendar days in one request	For example 10. Blank for no limit.	Blank
Days of notice an employee must give	For example 3 means the first day must be at least 3 days away. Leave you record yourself is not checked. Blank for none.	Blank

Employees

Who the policy covers and where each balance starts. More on this block.

Box	What it means	In this example
All employees, including people added later	Ticked: everyone is covered, now and later. Unticked: tick each employee in the table.	Ticked
Starting balance (hours)	Hours the employee already has, for example from your old system. Blank starts at 0.	Sample balances
As of	The date that starting balance is correct. Earning counts from this date, or from the policy's start date if blank.	Blank

Review and turn on

The last check before employees can use the policy. More on this block.

Box	What it means	In this example
Ready, or "N to finish"	Ready means every required box is filled. "2 to finish" means two boxes marked Required are empty.
Check the rules for this work location	Shown for sick, jury duty, parental, weather and custom policies. Local law can set rules for these.
I checked this policy against the rules for these work locations	Sick policies only, payroll team only. Records who checked it and when. Until then employees cannot use it. Changing a rule clears it.
The summary sentence	The policy in one line, for example "Paid. 80 hours a year, spread over each paycheck". Read it before you turn the policy on.
Turn on this policy / Turn off	Turns the policy on for the employees covered, or off. A new policy starts turned off.
Delete this policy	Only while no leave has been recorded on it. After that you can turn it off but not delete it.

Common questions

Do I need a sick policy if StartEase already tracks state sick leave?

No, not for the state rule itself. Add one only to give more, or for places the rules table does not cover.

Why can't employees use my new sick policy?

It is waiting for a payroll admin to confirm it for your work locations. Until then its status is Not confirmed.

Can I ask for a doctor's note?

Read the official page for each work location first: it says whether and when you may ask for one. Keep medical details out of notes in StartEase.

What the law says

Sources (government sites):

Note. This article explains how StartEase Payroll works and what the federal pages linked below say. It is not legal advice. State and city laws can add rules. Check them for each place your employees work.

Next: Floating holiday policy: what it is, why offer it, and how to set it up