In California, you are entitled to at least 40 hours, or five days, of paid sick leave per year. That floor comes from the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act, expanded by SB 616 effective January 1, 2024. Whether your employer front-loads the hours or lets you build them up over time, the annual minimum is the same.
How the 40 Hours Reach You
Employers can choose between two methods, and the method decides when the hours become available.
Under the accrual method, you earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, starting on your first day.1California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 246 – Paid Sick Days For a full-time schedule of 40 hours a week, that works out to roughly one hour and 20 minutes of sick time each week.
Under the upfront method, your employer gives you the full 40 hours or five days at the start of each year.1California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 246 – Paid Sick Days No accrual tracking, no carryover math. Your balance resets each year.
Accrual Milestones for New Employees
If your employer uses accrual, the law sets two checkpoints so you don’t have to wait excessively long to have usable time. You must have at least 24 hours available by your 120th calendar day of employment, and at least 40 hours available by your 200th calendar day.1California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 246 – Paid Sick Days
Caps on Accrual and Yearly Use
Two separate caps can apply, and they do different jobs. Your employer can cap the total balance of accrued sick leave at 80 hours or 10 days, so it doesn’t grow without limit.1California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 246 – Paid Sick Days Separately, your employer can limit how much you actually use in a single year to 40 hours or five days. So even if you’ve built up 80 hours, your annual usage may still be held to 40.
When you take sick time, your employer can require you to use it in increments of up to two hours at a time. A shorter block, like a 30-minute appointment, can be charged as a full two hours if that’s the employer’s minimum. Anything larger than two hours is not permitted.
Carryover From Year to Year
On the accrual method, unused hours carry over into the next year, up to the 80-hour balance cap.1California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 246 – Paid Sick Days Carryover is what lets a light-use year build a cushion for a heavier one.
On the upfront method, no carryover is required. The balance resets when the new grant lands.1California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 246 – Paid Sick Days
What Happens When You Leave
Unused sick leave does not have to be paid out when you leave a job. That’s different from accrued vacation, which California treats as earned wages that must be cashed out at separation. If the same employer rehires you within 12 months, though, your previously accrued and unused sick hours must be reinstated.
Who the 40-Hour Floor Covers
The law reaches most employees who work in California for 30 or more days within a year from their start date.2Labor Commissioner’s Office. Paid Sick Leave in California Independent contractors are not entitled to paid sick leave. Some employees under qualifying collective bargaining agreements, air carrier employees already covered by federal rules, and retired annuitants working for government agencies have partial or full exemptions. If you work through a staffing agency, the agency is typically your employer for sick leave purposes.
When You Might Be Owed More Than 40 Hours
State law is a floor. Several California cities have their own paid sick leave ordinances that can provide faster accrual, higher annual usage, or broader coverage. Cities with their own rules include San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Berkeley, Oakland, Santa Monica, and Emeryville, among others.3Department of Industrial Relations. California Paid Sick Leave – Frequently Asked Questions Where a local ordinance is more generous on a specific point, your employer must follow the local rule. Where the state is more generous, the state rule applies. In practice, whichever gives you the greater benefit on each requirement controls.
Checking and Enforcing Your Balance
Your available sick leave balance must appear on each pay stub or on a separate written statement provided with your paycheck. That’s how you verify you’re actually receiving what the law requires.
If your employer isn’t providing the hours, is blocking their use, or is retaliating against you for taking them, you can file a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.4Labor Commissioner’s Office. Report Labor Law Violations and File Claims You can also bring a civil suit directly. Retaliation, such as firing, demoting, or cutting hours because you used sick leave, is illegal, and remedies can include reinstatement, back wages, and additional penalties.