Paid Sick Leave. Every employer must provide each of its employees at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked as an employee. An employee is entitled to use accrued paid sick leave beginning on the 90th calendar day after the commencement of employment. 

Unused paid sick leave carries over to the following year, except that an employer is not required to allow an employee to carry over paid sick leave in excess of 40 hours.  An employer is not required to provide financial or other reimbursement for accrued and unused paid sick leave to any employee upon the employee's termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment.  When there is a separation from employment and the employee is rehired within 12 months by the same employer, previously accrued unused paid sick leave must be reinstated and the previous period of employment counts for the purposes of determining the employee's eligibility to use paid sick leave.

Paid sick leave requirements do not apply to construction workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) if:

• the union signatory to the CBA is an approved referral union program;
• the CBA establishes equivalent paid leave provisions; and
• the CBA expressly waives the sick leave requirements established by law.

Equivalent sick leave must meet the requirements in state law, except that the payment of leave may occur before usage.

Referral Union Programs. Unemployment insurance law requires individuals who receive unemployment benefits to actively look for work using customary trade practices. In some trades, labor unions refer members to job openings.

The Employment Security Department (ESD) approves unions that meet certain criteria under the referral union program. An individual that is a member of an approved union under the program, and meets certain requirements set by ESD, satisfies the job search requirements for unemployment insurance purposes.

Construction workers covered under a referral union program that are separating from employment must be paid the balance of accrued and unused paid sick leave as follows:

• for construction workers that have not met the 90 day sick leave eligibility threshold at the time of separation, the employer must pay the balance of their accrued and unused paid sick leave upon separation; and
• for construction workers that have met the 90 day sick leave eligibility threshold, the employer must pay the balance of their accrued and unused paid sick leave at the end of the calendar year.