Original research · LegiScan + state DOL / statute cites · As of September 18, 2026 · Distinct from tip-credit by state and Florida minimum-wage business costs · Not legal advice
How many employees before which paid / earned sick leave rules apply? After the 2025–2026 wave, Michigan now splits annual use caps at 10 or fewer (40 hours) vs 11+ (72 hours); Missouri repealed its Prop A sick-leave mandate effective August 28, 2025; Connecticut, Nebraska, and Alaska added or expanded size-gated coverage; and Pennsylvania statewide bills remain pending. Local city overlays still exist in many places — this page tracks statewide employer-size thresholds.
Key findings
- Michigan HB 4002 (PA 2’25) — approved 2025-02-21, assigned PA on 2025-02-25. Amends the Earned Sick Time Act: small businesses (10 or fewer) may cap annual use at 40 hours; employers with 11+ may cap at 72 hours. Accrual remains 1 hour per 30 hours worked. Large-employer timing tracks the February 2025 effective window; small-business accrual/frontload tracking obligations were delayed until 2025-10-01 (MCL 408.963).
- Missouri HB 567 — signed 2025-07-10. Repealed Prop A earned paid sick-time sections (including RSMo § 290.600) effective 2025-08-28. Missouri DOL FAQ: employers are no longer required to provide earned paid sick time beginning Aug. 28, 2025 (voluntary policies OK). Treat enrolled law + DOL — not campaign copy — as controlling.
- Other 2025–2026 size moves — Alaska Ballot Measure 1 (~July 2025) and Nebraska Initiative 436 (Oct. 1, 2025) added size-tiered statewide PSL; Connecticut’s expansion reaches 11+ employees on 2026-01-01 (and 1+ on 2027-01-01).
- Pennsylvania — HB 899 (2025) introduced / referred to Labor & Industry; HB 2548 (2024) did not become law. Proposed ≠ law. Philly/Pittsburgh local leave rules may still apply.
- Service employers (cleaning, salon, daycare, landscaping, food truck): headcount definitions often count part-time, temporary, and staffing-agency workers — verify the statute before assuming your “8 W-2s” count.
Distinct from: our tip-credit / tipped cash-wage map (wage offsets, not leave) and Florida $15 minimum-wage payroll scenarios. For other labor legislation trackers, see workers’ comp who-must-carry bills and sales tax on services bills.
Where employer size changes the leave rule
Michigan worked example (illustrative)
Scenario (illustrative, not advice): A Michigan cleaning / salon / daycare operator comparing 8 W-2 employees vs 12 W-2 employees under the Earned Sick Time Act as amended by PA 2 of 2025.
- 8 employees — generally treated as a small business (10 or fewer) if the statutory counting rules are met → employer may limit annual use to 40 hours per employee; accrual still 1:30 (or frontload ≥40). Small-biz accrual/frontload tracking delay ran through 2025-10-01.
- 12 employees — 11+ tier → employer may limit annual use to 72 hours; same 1:30 accrual (or frontload ≥72). Large-employer obligations tracked the February 2025 effective window.
Counting traps: temps and staffing-agency workers often count; an employer that had more than 10 on payroll in 20+ weeks in the current or prior year is not a small business even if a given week shows ≤10. Confirm MCL 408.962 definitions and LEO/Wage & Hour guidance for your facts.
Statewide thresholds, caps, and accrual
Rows below are states (plus D.C.) with a statewide paid sick / earned leave statute in the CRS March 2026 compilation, plus Missouri (repealed) and Pennsylvania (pending watch). Gray-map states are omitted from the HTML table but appear as none in the CSV.
| State | Employer-size threshold(s) | Annual use cap (typical) | Accrual rate | Law type | 2025–2026 wave note | Cite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska AK |
<15 vs 15+ | 40 (<15); 56 (15+) | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | Ballot Measure 1 — statewide PSL eff. ~2025-07-01 | AS (Ballot Measure 1 / CRS Mar 2026) |
| Arizona AZ |
<15 vs 15+ | 24 (<15); 40 (15+) | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | — | A.R.S. § 23-371 et seq. |
| Connecticut CT |
11+ (2026); expands to 1+ on 2027-01-01 | 40 | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | PA 24-8 expansion: 25+ (2025) → 11+ (2026) → 1+ (2027) | CGS §§ 31-57r–31-57w; CT DOL PSL FAQ |
| District of Columbia DC |
<25 / 25–99 / 100+ | 3 / 5 / 7 days (tiered) | 1:87 / 1:43 / 1:37 (by size) | paid sick | — | D.C. Code § 32-531.01 et seq. |
| Maine ME |
10+ (below: no mandate) | 40 | 1 hour / 40 hours worked | earned paid leave any reason | — | 26 M.R.S. § 637 |
| Maryland MD |
15+ paid; <15 unpaid | 40 | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | — | Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-1301 et seq. |
| Massachusetts MA |
11+ paid; <11 unpaid | 40 | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | — | M.G.L. c. 149 § 148C |
| Michigan MI |
≤10 small-biz (40-hr use); 11+ (72-hr use) | 40 (≤10); 72 (11+) | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | HB 4002 / PA 2'25 (approved 2025-02-21; assigned PA 2025-02-25). Large-employer timing ~2025-02-21; small-biz accrual obligations delayed until 2025-10-01. | MCL 408.962–408.963 (as amended by 2025 PA 2) |
| Nebraska NE |
11–19 vs 20+ (below 11: no mandate) | 40 (11–19); 56 (20+) | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | Initiative 436 — eff. 2025-10-01 | Neb. Initiative 436 / CRS Mar 2026 |
| Nevada NV |
50+ (below: no mandate) | 40 | ~1 hour / 52 hours worked (0.01923/hr) | earned paid leave any reason | — | NRS 608.0197 |
| New York NY |
<5 (income-gated) / 5–99 / 100+ | 40 (<100); 56 (100+); unpaid possible if <5 & ≤$1M net income | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | — | N.Y. Labor Law § 196-b |
| Oregon OR |
10+ paid (6+ if operating in city >500k pop.); smaller unpaid | 40 | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | — | ORS 653.601 et seq. |
| Rhode Island RI |
18+ paid; <18 unpaid | 40 | 1 hour / 35 hours worked or paid | paid sick | — | R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-57-1 et seq. |
| California CA |
All employers (no small-employer unpaid tier) | ≥40 use (5 days); accrual bank up to 80 | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | SB 616 (2023) expanded leave; still in force 2026 | Lab. Code § 246 et seq. |
| Colorado CO |
All employers | 48 | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | — | C.R.S. § 8-13.3-401 et seq. |
| Illinois IL |
All employers | 40 | 1 hour / 40 hours worked | earned paid leave any reason | — | 820 ILCS 192/ |
| Minnesota MN |
All employers | 48 | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | Statewide Earned Sick and Safe Time in force (2024+) | Minn. Stat. § 181.9445 et seq. |
| New Jersey NJ |
All employers | 40 | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | — | N.J.S.A. 34:11D-1 et seq. |
| New Mexico NM |
All employers | 64 | 1 hour / 30 hours worked | paid sick | — | NMSA 1978 § 50-17-1 et seq. |
| Vermont VT |
All employers | 40 | 1 hour / 52 hours worked | paid sick | — | 21 V.S.A. § 481 et seq. |
| Washington WA |
All employers | No statutory annual use cap (carryover may be limited to 40) | 1 hour / 40 hours worked | paid sick | — | RCW 49.46.210 |
| Missouri MO |
n/a — repealed | n/a | n/a | repealed | Prop A created statewide PSL; HB 567 (signed 2025-07-10) repealed §§ 290.600 et seq. effective 2025-08-28. MO DOL: employers no longer required to provide earned paid sick time beginning Aug. 28, 2025 (may continue voluntarily). | RSMo § 290.600 (Repealed L. 2025 H.B. 567); MO DOL FAQ |
| Pennsylvania PA |
n/a | n/a | n/a | pending watch | HB 899 (2025) Introduced — referred Labor & Industry 2025-03-13 (LegiScan). HB 2548 (2024) laid on table — not enacted. Proposed ≠ law. Local Philly/Pittsburgh overlays exist. | LegiScan PA HB899 / HB2548 |
2025–2026 bill anchors (verified)
- MI HB 4002 — LegiScan status Passed (status_date 2025-02-25); PA 2’25 with immediate effect; bill_id 1909085. LegiScan · MCL 408.963
- MO HB 567 — LegiScan status Passed (status_date 2025-07-10); repeal of earned sick-time chapter effective 2025-08-28; bill_id 1896878. LegiScan · MO DOL FAQ · RSMo 290.600 repealed
- PA HB 899 — Introduced 2025-03-13; referred to Labor & Industry; not law. LegiScan
- PA HB 2548 (2024) — Laid on the table; not enacted.
Downloads
- CSV — all 50 states + D.C. (thresholds, caps, accrual, wave notes)
- Map (PNG)
- Size-tier caps chart (PNG)
Methods, fences, and limits
- Not legal advice. Statutes, DOL FAQs, and local ordinances control. Headcount definitions (temps, staffing agencies, multi-state payroll) vary.
- Local city/county PSL overlays exist even where the state has no mandate — and can be stricter than the state floor where both apply.
- Proposed ≠ law. Engrossed/introduced Pennsylvania bills are watch-only.
- Missouri status matches enrolled HB 567 + Revisor repeal date + DOL FAQ (no longer required as of Aug. 28, 2025).
- Primary synthesis for non-MI/MO rows: CRS R48921 Table A-1 (March 2026), cross-checked to state DOL pages where noted (CT accrual uses CT DOL / PA 24-8 1:30, not the older 1:40 figure).
- Optional QCEW establishment-size context is not used as causation here — this magnet is statute thresholds only.
- Industry hubs for operators: hair salon, daycare, landscaping, food truck. Cash timing before commercial work: how much cash before a commercial contract.
- LegiScan data © LegiScan — used under CC BY 4.0 for bill status fields.
- As of September 18, 2026 (America/New_York).