How Does Sick Pay Work in California: Accrual, Caps, and Uses

Sick pay in California works like this: almost every employee earns at least 40 hours (five days) of paid sick leave a year, starts accruing from day one, can begin using it after 90 days on the job, and gets paid at their regular wage rate when they take it. The rules apply whether you’re full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal, and whether your employer has three workers or three thousand.¹

Who Earns Paid Sick Leave

You qualify once you’ve worked for the same California employer for at least 30 days within a year. That single threshold covers most of the workforce. There is no minimum hours-per-week rule and no exclusion for part-time or temporary status.¹

A few narrow groups fall outside the standard rules. Employees under certain collective bargaining agreements that already provide equivalent paid sick leave may be exempt, as may some construction workers under qualifying union contracts. In-home supportive services providers are covered but receive a reduced amount of leave.²

You start earning sick leave from your first day of work. You cannot actually use any of it, though, until you’ve been employed for 90 days. After that, hours are available as they accrue.¹

How Much You Get and How It Builds Up

Employers can choose one of two ways to provide the leave. Under the accrual method, you earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Every hour counts, including overtime, so a 40-hour-a-week worker earns roughly one hour and 20 minutes of sick time each week.¹

Under the upfront or lump-sum method, the employer simply hands you the full 40 hours or five days at the start of each year, calendar year, or 12-month period. No hour-by-hour tracking is required.²

Either way, you must have access to at least 40 hours or five days of paid sick leave each year.

Carryover and Caps

If your employer uses accrual, unused sick leave carries over from year to year. Your employer can cap your total banked leave at 80 hours or 10 days; once you reach that ceiling, accrual pauses until you use some of the balance. Separately, an employer can limit how much you actually use in a single year to 40 hours or five days, even if your bank is larger.²

If your employer uses the upfront method and gives you the full amount at the start of each period, no carryover is required. You already received the full annual allotment.²

What You Can Use Sick Leave For

Paid sick leave covers your own health needs and the care of certain family members. Qualifying uses include:

Diagnosis, treatment, or care of an existing physical or mental health condition
Preventive care such as checkups, vaccinations, and screenings
Care for a family member who is ill or needs medical attention
Time off related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking — including getting a restraining order, attending court, obtaining counseling, relocating to safety, or accessing services from a shelter or crisis center

The definition of “family member” is broad. It includes your child (biological, adopted, foster, or stepchild, of any age), parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, and sibling.³ Since 2024, it also includes a “designated person,” someone with a blood relationship or whose association with you is equivalent to family. You can identify one designated person per year when you request leave.⁴

How Sick Time Is Paid

Sick leave is paid at your regular rate, not a reduced one. The calculation differs slightly for hourly and salaried workers.

For non-exempt (hourly) employees, an employer can use one of two methods. The first pays you at the regular rate for the workweek in which you take the sick time, using the same formula that applies to overtime (even if you didn’t actually work overtime that week). The second divides your total wages, excluding overtime premiums, by your total hours worked over the prior 90 days.

For exempt (salaried) employees, sick pay is calculated the same way your employer calculates any other paid time off. A full-time salaried employee taking one full sick day generally receives one-fifth of the weekly salary.

You decide how much time to use for a given absence, but your employer can require a minimum increment of up to two hours per use. That means a 30-minute appointment could cost you a two-hour block of leave.²

How to Request Sick Leave

If you know in advance that you’ll need time off, such as for a scheduled surgery or dental visit, give reasonable advance notice. If the need is unexpected, notify your employer as soon as you reasonably can. The request can be spoken or written. Your employer cannot make you find a replacement before approving your leave.¹

Doctor’s Notes

Your employer cannot deny paid sick leave just because you didn’t produce a doctor’s note. You are entitled to use accrued leave on an oral or written request, without medical documentation as a precondition. In limited circumstances, if the employer has specific reason to believe the leave is being misused, it may be reasonable to ask for supporting documentation before paying out the time.⁴

Protection From Retaliation

Your employer cannot fire, threaten to fire, demote, suspend, or otherwise discriminate against you for using or trying to use paid sick leave, or for filing a complaint about a sick leave violation.⁵

Protected sick leave also cannot count as an “occurrence” under an attendance policy. If your workplace uses a points system for absences, days properly taken as sick leave cannot be held against you.

What Happens When You Leave or Come Back

Unused sick leave is not paid out when you resign or are terminated. Unlike vacation time, any remaining balance is forfeited when you leave.²

If you return to the same employer within 12 months, however, your previously accrued and unused sick leave must be reinstated. That matters after a layoff, a seasonal break, or a short stint with a different employer.²

Seeing Your Balance and Reporting Problems

Your employer must show your available sick leave balance on your pay stub or on a separate document issued each payday. Employers must also keep records of hours worked and sick leave accrued and used for at least three years. A missing balance on your pay stub is itself a violation.

If your employer withholds sick leave, retaliates against you for using it, or pays you incorrectly for it, you can file a wage claim or retaliation complaint with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office. Claims can be filed online, by mail, or by phone at 833-LCO-INFO (833-526-4636). Penalties for violations can include the value of withheld leave tripled (or $250, whichever is greater), up to a total of $4,000, plus a separate $50-per-day penalty when a violation causes further harm such as termination, also capped at $4,000.⁶⁷

When Five Days Isn’t Enough

The state sick leave law tops out at 40 hours or five days a year. A serious illness, surgery recovery, or ongoing treatment can easily outrun that. Several other programs may extend your time away from work.

California Family Rights Act

If your employer has five or more employees, you’ve been employed more than 12 months, and you worked at least 1,250 hours in the past year, the CFRA gives you up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for your own serious health condition or to care for a family member. California’s family definition under the CFRA is broader than federal law and includes domestic partners, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and a designated person.⁸

Federal FMLA

The FMLA also provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave, but with stricter eligibility: the employer must have at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your worksite, and you must have worked 1,250 hours in the past 12 months. It covers serious health conditions involving inpatient care or ongoing treatment, not routine minor illnesses.⁹ When both apply, CFRA and FMLA leave typically run at the same time.

State Disability Insurance

When sick leave runs out and you still cannot work because of a non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy, California State Disability Insurance can replace part of your income. SDI is funded through payroll deductions, not by the employer, and pays weekly benefits based on your earnings. Claims are filed through the Employment Development Department.

ADA Accommodations

If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, your employer may have to provide additional unpaid leave beyond what state sick leave, the CFRA, or the FMLA already offers, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. Someone who has used all 12 weeks of FMLA but needs a 13th week to recover, for example, generally cannot be denied that extra week without an undue hardship showing.¹⁰

1
California Department of Industrial Relations. Paid Sick Leave in California
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California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 246
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California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 245.5
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California Department of Industrial Relations. California Paid Sick Leave Frequently Asked Questions
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California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 246.5
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California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 248.5
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California Department of Industrial Relations. Report Labor Law Violations and File Claims
8
California Civil Rights Department. Family Care and Medical Leave and Pregnancy Disability Leave
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U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28 – The Family and Medical Leave Act
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U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the ADA