At least 17 states allow students to take mental health days as excused absences, and more than a dozen states require employers to provide paid sick leave that can be used for mental health conditions. Even where no state law applies, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act give many workers the right to take time off for a serious mental health condition without losing their jobs. So the honest answer to which states allow mental health days depends on whether you’re asking about a student or an employee, and in the workplace case, how big the employer is.
States That Excuse Student Mental Health Absences
As of late 2025, at least 17 states have passed laws treating a student’s mental or behavioral health the same way they treat physical illness for school attendance purposes: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The structure of these laws is usually the same. Mental or behavioral health gets added to the statutory definition of an excused absence, so a day off for that reason doesn’t count against the student. What varies is how many days are allowed and whether documentation is required.
Oregon
Oregon’s House Bill 2191 lets a student use mental or behavioral health as a valid reason for an excused absence on the same footing as physical sickness. Students can take up to five excused absences within a three-month term, or up to ten in a term of six months or longer.1Oregon State Legislature. House Bill 2191 A-Engrossed
Illinois
Illinois allows up to five mental or behavioral health days per school year with no doctor’s note required. Students must be given a chance to make up any work they miss. After a second mental health day, school staff may refer the student to support personnel, but the law does not require that referral.2Illinois General Assembly. Public Act 102-03213Illinois State Board of Education. Public Act 102-0321 Frequently Asked Questions
Virginia
A 2020 Virginia law directed the Department of Education to develop guidelines for excused mental or behavioral health absences and required school boards to implement them. Any absence for a mental or behavioral health reason gets excused under those guidelines, though individual districts have some flexibility on the specifics.4Virginia Code Commission. 2020 Uncodified Act – Chapter 869
Colorado, Kentucky, and Washington
Colorado’s SB20-014 requires school districts to include behavioral health concerns as a valid reason for excused absences in their attendance policies.5Colorado General Assembly. SB20-014 Excused Absences in Public Schools for Behavioral Health Kentucky’s HB 44 similarly mandates that local districts build mental or behavioral health provisions into their attendance policies.6Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. HB 44 – An Act Relating to Student Mental Health Washington requires the superintendent of public instruction to categorize any mental health absence as an excused absence due to illness.7Washington State Legislature. RCW 28A.300.046 – Student Absence from School
If your state isn’t on the list above, check your school district’s attendance policy before assuming the answer is no. Some districts allow mental health absences without a state mandate.
States Where Paid Sick Leave Covers Workers’ Mental Health
No state has a standalone “mental health day” law for workers. What more than a dozen states have is paid sick leave written broadly enough to cover mental illness, counseling appointments, and psychological treatment. Annual caps range from 24 to 72 hours depending on the state and employer size.
California
Since January 1, 2024, California employers must provide at least 40 hours (five days) of paid sick leave per year, accrued at one hour for every 30 hours worked. Covered uses include recovery from mental illness, seeking diagnosis or treatment, and preventive care.8California Department of Industrial Relations. Paid Sick Leave in California
New York
New York’s paid sick leave law covers all private-sector workers and permits leave for mental or physical illness, injury, or health conditions whether or not the condition has been diagnosed. Employers with 100 or more employees must provide up to 56 hours per year; those with 5 to 99 employees must provide up to 40 hours. Even employers with four or fewer workers must provide up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave.9The State of New York. New York Paid Sick Leave
Washington
Washington’s sick leave statute explicitly lists mental health as a covered reason. Employees accrue one hour for every 40 hours worked and can use the leave for their own mental or physical health needs or those of a family member.10Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 49.46.210 – Paid Sick Leave – Authorized Purposes – Limitations
Michigan
Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act gives workers one hour of paid sick time per 30 hours worked. Employees at larger businesses can use up to 72 hours per year; those at small businesses are capped at 40 hours. Covered uses include the employee’s own illness and care for a family member.11Michigan Legislature. MCL 408.963 – Earned Sick Time Act
Alaska
Alaska’s paid sick leave law took effect July 1, 2025. Workers accrue one hour per 30 hours worked and can use the time for their own injury or illness, to care for a family member, or in domestic violence or sexual assault situations.12Alaska Department of Labor. Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave Frequently Asked Questions
Other States With Covered Sick Leave
Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, and Oregon also require paid sick leave written broadly enough to cover mental health. The common accrual rate is one hour per 30 to 40 hours worked, but annual caps and employer-size thresholds differ. Your state labor department’s website will have the specifics for your employer.
Federal Protections If Your State Has No Law
If you work in a state without paid sick leave, two federal laws may still protect your right to take mental health time off. Neither guarantees paid leave, but both can prevent you from being fired for taking it.
The Family and Medical Leave Act
The FMLA provides up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for a serious health condition, and mental health is explicitly included. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, and similar conditions qualify if they require either inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider. “Continuing treatment” means the condition either incapacitates you for more than three consecutive days and requires ongoing care, or is a chronic condition that flares up periodically and requires treatment at least twice a year.13U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28O: Mental Health Conditions and the FMLA
Not everyone is eligible. You must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours in that period, and work at a location where your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles. Meet those thresholds and your employer must hold your job, or an equivalent one, while you’re on leave.14U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28: The Family and Medical Leave Act
FMLA leave doesn’t have to be taken in one block. Intermittent leave is allowed, including a few hours at a time for therapy appointments or a day here and there during a difficult stretch, as long as there’s medical necessity for the schedule.
The Americans with Disabilities Act
If you have a mental health condition that substantially limits a major life activity, your employer may have to provide a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, and that accommodation can include time off. The EEOC’s guidance specifically names “permitting the use of accrued paid leave or providing additional unpaid leave for treatment or recovery related to a disability” as a reasonable accommodation. This applies even if your employer has a no-leave policy, unless providing the leave would impose an undue hardship on the business.15U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the ADA and Psychiatric Disabilities
The ADA applies to employers with 15 or more employees, catching many workers who fall below the FMLA’s 50-employee threshold.
What You Have to Tell Your Employer
The law limits what your employer can ask when you take mental health leave. The specifics depend on which law applies.
For FMLA leave, your employer can require a medical certification from your healthcare provider. That certification includes the provider’s contact information, the date the condition began, how long it’s expected to last, and enough medical facts to establish that you can’t perform your essential job functions. Your provider is not required to name a specific diagnosis. The certification must show you have a serious health condition, but it doesn’t need to say which one. Your direct supervisor is never allowed to contact your healthcare provider; any follow-up must go through HR or a leave administrator.16U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28G: Medical Certification under the Family and Medical Leave Act
Under the ADA, protections go further. An employer generally cannot make disability-related inquiries or require medical examinations unless the inquiry is job-related and consistent with business necessity. A doctor’s note can be required to substantiate sick leave, but only if the same documentation is required from all employees. Asking about the nature or severity of your disability is off-limits absent a specific, job-related reason.17U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on Disability-Related Inquiries and Medical Examinations of Employees under the ADA
For state paid sick leave, rules vary. Most states that mandate it allow employers to request a doctor’s note only after a set number of consecutive absence days, often three. For a single mental health day, you typically won’t need to provide any documentation beyond following your company’s normal call-in procedure.
Protection Against Retaliation
The ADA makes it illegal for an employer to fire, refuse to hire, refuse to promote, or force leave on an employee because of a mental health condition. Requesting a reasonable accommodation is itself protected. An employer who penalizes you for asking is breaking the law, whether or not the accommodation is ultimately granted.18U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Depression, PTSD, and Other Mental Health Conditions in the Workplace – Your Legal Rights
The FMLA has parallel anti-retaliation provisions. Employers cannot count FMLA-protected absences against you in attendance policies, deny a promotion because of FMLA leave, or treat the leave as a negative factor in performance reviews. If you believe you’ve been retaliated against, you can file a complaint with the EEOC for ADA claims or with the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division for FMLA claims.
If No Law Applies: Check Your Employer’s Policy
If you work for a small employer in a state without a paid sick leave mandate and you don’t meet FMLA eligibility, your options come down to your company’s own policies. Many employers voluntarily offer mental health days as part of their PTO or sick leave benefits, and that has grown more common since 2020. Some offer dedicated mental health days separate from general sick leave; others fold them into a broader PTO bank.
Your employee handbook or HR department is the place to look. Watch for language about “wellness days,” “personal days,” or sick leave that covers “health conditions” broadly rather than physical illness alone. If your company has no explicit policy, ask. Employers are increasingly willing to accommodate mental health needs even without a legal requirement.