Texas paid sick leave law is, in practical terms, the absence of one. No Texas statute requires private employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave, and no federal law requires paid sick leave either.1Texas Workforce Commission. Vacation and Sick Leave2U.S. Department of Labor. Sick Leave Whether you get sick days depends almost entirely on what your employer chose to put in writing, with a few federal protections sitting on top for workers who meet specific eligibility rules.
Texas is an at-will employment state. If your employer offers no sick leave and you miss work because you’re ill, you generally have no state-law protection against being fired. The exceptions are federal: the Family and Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations, and the paid sick leave rule for federal contractors. If none of those apply to you, calling in sick is not, by itself, a protected activity in Texas.
Texas Cities Cannot Fill the Gap
Between 2018 and 2020, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio each passed ordinances requiring private employers to let workers earn paid sick time. All three were struck down. Texas courts held that the ordinances were preempted by the Texas Minimum Wage Act, which under Labor Code Section 62.0515 supersedes locally enacted wage requirements for private employment.3State of Texas. Texas Labor Code 62.0515 A federal district court permanently enjoined the Dallas ordinance in March 2021.4City of Dallas. Employee Resources – Paid Sick Leave
The Texas Legislature then closed the door with House Bill 2127 in 2023, which added Section 1.005 to the Labor Code. The provision bars cities and counties from adopting or enforcing any ordinance regulating employment leave, hiring, scheduling, benefits, or other terms of employment beyond what state or federal law requires.5LegiScan. TX HB2127 – 88th Legislature It took effect September 1, 2023. Local sick leave mandates are off the table unless state law changes.
Unpaid, Job-Protected Leave Under the FMLA
For many Texas workers, the strongest protection is the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. It doesn’t pay you, but it guarantees that your job (or an equivalent position) will be waiting when you return. Eligible workers can take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2612 – Leave Requirement
Who Qualifies
You must have worked for your employer at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months, and your employer must have at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your worksite.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2611 – Definitions Those thresholds leave out a lot of Texans, especially people at small businesses or in their first year on the job.
What It Covers
If you qualify, FMLA leave covers a serious health condition that keeps you from doing your job, caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition, the birth or placement of a child, and certain situations tied to a family member’s military deployment.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2612 – Leave Requirement Your employer can require medical certification from your healthcare provider before approving leave for a serious health condition.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2613 – Certification
Taking It in Smaller Blocks
FMLA leave doesn’t have to be taken all at once. When medically necessary, you can use it intermittently or on a reduced work schedule.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2612 – Leave Requirement A worker with migraines could use a few hours at a time. A worker needing recurring treatments can block out those days. Each absence counts against the 12-week total.
Health Insurance Stays Active
Your employer must keep your group health insurance in place during FMLA leave on the same terms as if you were still working, with the employer continuing its share of the premiums.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2614 – Employment and Benefits Protection You still owe your share. If you normally pay through payroll deduction, you and your employer need to arrange how those payments continue while you’re on unpaid leave.
Leave as a Disability Accommodation Under the ADA
The Americans with Disabilities Act creates a separate leave right that reaches situations the FMLA misses. Under the ADA, your employer must consider unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation for a disability, even if the employer offers no leave benefit at all, you’re ineligible for FMLA, or you’ve already used up your FMLA entitlement.10U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Employer-Provided Leave and the Americans with Disabilities Act
The leave has to enable you to return to work, and the employer can deny it if granting it would cause significant difficulty or expense given the employer’s size and resources. The ADA doesn’t require paid leave beyond whatever paid leave the employer already offers. For workers at smaller companies below the FMLA threshold, this is sometimes the only federal protection available when a disabling condition keeps them off the job.
Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contract Workers
Texas has a large federal contracting workforce across military installations, aerospace, and government services. If you work on or in connection with a covered federal contract, Executive Order 13706 gives you an actual right to paid sick leave. You accrue at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.11Acquisition.gov. 52.222-62 Paid Sick Leave Under Executive Order 13706 Employers can cap accrual at 56 hours per year, with unused hours carrying over subject to the same 56-hour use cap.12Acquisition.gov. Subpart 22.21 – Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors
This covers contracts under the Service Contract Labor Standards statute or the Wage Rate Requirements (Construction) statute performed in whole or part within the United States, with eligibility extending to workers covered by those statutes or the Fair Labor Standards Act.12Acquisition.gov. Subpart 22.21 – Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors If your paycheck comes from a federal contract and you’re unsure whether it applies, look for FAR clause 52.222-62 in your contract paperwork or ask your contracting officer.
A Note on State Employees
Texas state government employees have statutory sick leave that private workers don’t. Under Texas Government Code Chapter 661, state employees earn eight hours of sick leave per month from their first day, with no cap on accumulation.13State of Texas. Texas Government Code Chapter 661 This applies to employees of state agencies and institutions, not to workers at private companies, local governments, or school districts with their own policies.
When Your Employer Does Offer Leave
Plenty of Texas employers voluntarily offer sick leave or a consolidated paid-time-off bank. When they do, the terms usually appear in an employee handbook or written contract. Once an employer commits to a leave policy in writing, those promises become enforceable under the Texas Payday Law.1Texas Workforce Commission. Vacation and Sick Leave The written policy becomes part of your wage agreement, and the employer has to follow it as written.
Policies vary. Some employers keep sick leave in its own bucket. Others fold everything into one PTO pool you can use for any reason. The difference matters at separation: unused sick leave typically doesn’t have to be paid out when you leave, while unused vacation may need to be paid depending on the written policy. When you’re weighing a job offer, read the leave section carefully and find out whether accrued time has any cash value when you go.
Filing a Wage Claim If Leave Is Denied
If your employer’s written policy entitles you to sick leave and the employer refuses to honor it, you can file a wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission. The deadline is 180 days from the date the wages were originally due.14Texas Workforce Commission. Texas Payday Law – Wage Claim You can file online or on paper. The claim needs enough detail to identify the employer, describe the unpaid wages, and show how you calculated what’s owed.
TWC sends a copy to your employer, who has 14 days to respond. The agency then issues a Preliminary Wage Determination Order. Either side can appeal. Collection can’t begin until at least 31 days after the order is mailed, and an appeal restarts the decision process.14Texas Workforce Commission. Texas Payday Law – Wage Claim Miss the 180-day window and the claim is gone, so document any denied leave right away.
If There’s No Written Policy
With no written sick leave policy, your options narrow to the federal protections above. There is no Texas state-law right to time off, and verbal promises about leave are hard to enforce. The most useful thing you can do is ask for your employer’s leave policy in writing before you need it. If none exists, your options when illness strikes are FMLA (if you qualify), ADA accommodation (if a disability is involved), or negotiating directly with your employer, understanding that nothing in Texas law requires them to agree.