Compliance Conundrum: Are Seasonal Employees Eligible for Paid Leave?

California 

All employees who work at least 30 or more days within a year for an employer in California are eligible to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. The law applies to all employers in California. 

Employees may begin using accrued paid sick leave on the 90th day of employment. 

If an employer rehires an employee within one year of separation, all accrued, unused paid sick leave the employee had as of their separation date must be reinstated.

View Our Updated West Coast Compliance Guide

Colorado 

All employees in Colorado who work for an employer with 16 or more employees are eligible to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. The law currently applies to employers with 16 or more employees. 

There is no waiting period for an employee to use accrued paid sick leave. Employees may use paid sick leave as it is accrued. 

If the employer rehires the employee within six months, all accrued, unused paid sick leave the employee had as of their separation date must be reinstated to the employee. 

Connecticut 

In Connecticut, employees who work at least 10 hours per week for an employer in the most recent complete quarter are eligible to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. The law applies to employers with 50 or more workers in Connecticut. 

Employees are eligible to use accrued paid sick leave once they have completed 680 hours of employment. Employees are not entitled to reinstatement of unused accrued paid sick leave if they are rehired by the same employer. 

District of Columbia 

In the nation’s capital, employees whose primary work time (50 percent or more) is in D.C., have been employed by the same employer for one year with no break in service, and have worked at least 1,000 hours in the past year are eligible to accrue paid sick leave at a graduated rate depending on the size of the employer. 

• Employers with 100-plus employees must provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 37 hours worked 

• Employers with 25-99 employees must provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 43 hours worked 

• Employers with 24 or fewer employees must provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 87 hours worked 

Restaurant and bar employees who regularly receive tips, commissions, or other gratuities to supplement a base wage should accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 43 hours worked. 

The law applies to all private employers and the D.C. government. Employers may impose a 90-day waiting period after an employee’s start date before they may use their paid leave.  

If the employer rehires the employee within one year of separation, all accrued, unused paid sick leave the employee had as of their separation date must be reinstated to the employee. 

Illinois 

Illinois requires private employers to provide employees with one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked and the leave can be used for any reason.  

Seasonal employees are generally eligible for paid leave unless they are employed by a college or university less than full-time and also taking classes or are a short-term employee employed by an institution of higher education for less than 2 consecutive calendar quarters with no reasonable expectation they will be rehired in any subsequent calendar year. 

Under Illinois law, there is a 90-day waiting period following an employee’s start of employment before an employee may use accrued paid leave. Further, if an employee is rehired within 12 months of separation by the same employer, any previously accrued but unused paid leave must be reinstated and available for immediate use. 

Maine 

Employees who work more than 120 days in a calendar year and work for an employer with more than 10 employees are eligible to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked in Maine. 

Seasonal employees defined by the Employment Security Act are exempt from the state’s paid sick leave law. A list of seasonal industries and their seasonal periods can be found on the state’s website. 

Maine law allows for a 120-day waiting period before an employee may use paid sick leave. Employers must reinstate unused, accrued sick leave to employees rehired within one year of separation. 

Maryland 

Maryland has many exemptions from its paid sick leave law, including employees who work less than 12 hours per week and temporary employees. Employers should understand the various exemptions in the Maryland paid sick leave law to confirm whether the law applies to their employees. 

Employers should be aware of the various exemptions in this law if they hire seasonal or temporary workers. Eligible employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. 

The law applies to employers with 15 or more workers, including state and local government. The waiting period before an employee may use accrued paid sick leave is 106 days of employment.  

Massachusetts 

Employees whose primary place of work is in Massachusetts, regardless of the employer’s location, are eligible to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. This applies to employers who employ 11 or more employees. Paid sick leave is eligible for use after 90 days of employment.  

Employers who rehire employees within four months of separation should reinstate an employee’s unused accrued paid sick leave at the time of separation. If an employee is rehired between four and 12 months after separation, the employer only needs to reinstate the employee’s unused accrued paid sick leave prior to separation if the employee’s accrued unused paid sick leave was 10 hours or more. 

Michigan 

Michigan paid sick leave applies to all employees working for an employer with 50 or more employees, excluding government or political subdivisions. Employees must accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 35 hours worked. Paid sick leave is eligible for use on the 90th calendar day after the start of employment. 

Michigan does not require any reinstatement of unused, accrued paid sick leave upon rehire of a prior employee.  

Minnesota 

Minnesota’s paid sick leave law applies to all employees, including temporary and part-time employees who are anticipated to work at least 80 hours in a year for a Minnesota employer. The only exceptions are independent contractors, certain volunteer or on-call firefighters or ambulance service personnel, certain elected officials, and individuals employed on a farm for 28 days or less each year. 

Employees must accrue one hour for every 30 hours worked and paid sick leave may be taken as it is accrued. Minnesota law does not apply any waiting period before an employee may take their accrued sick leave.  

If an employee is rehired within 180 days after separation of employment by the same employer, previously accrued but unused sick leave must be reinstated and available to the employee for immediate use. 

Nevada 

Full- and part-time employees who work for a private employer with 50 or more workers in Nevada must accrue .01923 hours of paid sick leave for every hour worked. Its law does not apply to seasonal workers who work fewer than 90 days per benefit year. Paid sick leave may be used on the 90th calendar day of employment. 

Nevada requires that employees rehired within 90 days of separation must have any accrued, unused paid sick leave reinstated. 

New Jersey 

Employees who are employed by a private employer in New Jersey are eligible to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Paid sick leave may be used on the 120th day after the start of employment.  

If an employee is rehired within six months of separation, the employer must reinstate any unused, accrued paid sick time. 

New Mexico 

New Mexico’s paid sick leave law applies to all employees and employers in New Mexico. Employees must accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. 

Paid sick leave is eligible to be taken on the 60th day after July 1, 2022. If an employee is rehired within 12 months of separation, previously accrued, unused earned sick leave must be reinstated. 

New York 

All employees in New York, except those governmental agencies, must accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. There is no waiting period required under the law before paid sick leave may be taken. 

The state does not require reinstatement of unused, accrued paid sick leave for employees who are rehired. 

Oregon 

All employees (with a few exemptions) who work for an employer with 10 or more employees in Oregon must accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employees are eligible to use paid sick leave on the 91st calendar day of employment.  

Employers must reinstate unused, accrued paid sick leave to employees rehired within 180 days of separation. If the employee was separated before the 91st day of employment, the employee’s status regarding the waiting period before use of paid leave begins where they left off at the time of separation. 

Rhode Island 

Rhode Island’s paid sick leave law applies to all employees working primarily in Rhode Island for a private employer, regardless of whether the employer is located in the state. Employees must accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 35 hours worked. 

There are several exemptions that may apply to seasonal workers. 

A covered employee does not include domestic service employees, federal and local municipal employees, certain employees or volunteers of educational, charitable, religious or nonprofit organizations, certain employees licensed to practice nursing, newspaper delivery, shoe shiners, caddies, pin persons in bowling alleys, ushers in theatres, traveling salespersons, minors working for a family business, resort establishments open from May 1 to Oct. 1, employees of camps operating fewer than seven months out of the year, independent contractors, subcontractors, work-study participants, apprenticeships, and interns. Rhode Island’s paid sick leave law does not apply to some workers who may be considered seasonal workers. 

Employees may begin using paid sick leave on the 91st day of employment. Employees rehired within 135 days of separation must have their previously accrued, unused paid sick leave reinstated. 

Vermont 

Employees who work an average of 18 hours per week in a year for an employer doing business in Vermont must accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 52 hours worked. 

Some exemptions to a covered employee may impact eligibility for some seasonal workers. Employees do not include, for example, an individual who is employed for 20 weeks or less in a 12-month period, or an individual under 18 years of age. 

The waiting period before paid sick leave is eligible for use in Vermont is one year of employment. Employees rehired within 12 months of an involuntary discharge are entitled to resume where they left off in the waiting period requirement. They are not entitled to any reinstatement of accrued and unused paid sick leave. 

Because of Vermont’s paid sick leave law provisions outlined above, the law would generally not apply to seasonal workers.  

Washington 

Generally, employees working for private employers in Washington are eligible for one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. 

Paid sick leave may be used on the 90th calendar day after the start of employment. 

Employees rehired within 12 months of separation must have their accrued unused paid sick leave at separation reinstated and their prior period of employment counted toward determining the waiting period before the use of leave. 

Conclusion 

Generally, most paid sick leave laws apply to seasonal workers. However, whether seasonal workers can actually utilize paid sick leave before their seasonal position ends is the primary question. Employers should closely review the waiting period applicable in each jurisdiction. 

Employers should review the definition of a covered employee and covered employer in jurisdictions requiring paid sick leave to ensure the law applies to the company and its seasonal employees. 

Employers should also keep accurate records of accrued, unused paid sick leave. In many of these jurisdictions, employers are required to apply accrued, unused sick leave to employees rehired within the applicable time frames in the jurisdiction. If you are rehiring the same workers season after season, this provision in the paid sick leave laws may apply to your company. 

Finally, remember to pay attention to local paid sick leave laws. While not covered here, there are many. And, in some cases, they may require more generous benefits. You can find more information on our Paid Leave Compliance Resources page.

This Employment Law News blog is intended for market awareness only, it is not to be used for legal advice or counsel.