California Paid Sick Leave: 40 Hours, 5 Days and Your Rights

In California, most employees are entitled to use at least 40 hours or 5 days of paid sick leave each year, whichever is more, for their own health needs or to care for a family member. The right applies to full-time, part-time and temporary workers, and your employer cannot punish you for using it.

The details matter. A nurse who works 12-hour shifts is entitled to five full shifts of paid sick leave, or 60 hours, not just 40. And a worker who gets written up or fired after calling in sick may have a claim that goes well beyond the pay for the missed day.

This guide explains who qualifies, how sick leave is earned and capped, what you can use it for, how it must be paid, the rules on notice and documentation, your protection from retaliation, deadlines, and what to do if your rights are violated. The law is California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act, Labor Code sections 245 through 249.

Who is covered

You are generally covered if you work in California for the same employer for at least 30 days within a year from the start of employment (Labor Code 246(a)). Employers of every size are covered. Part-time, seasonal and temporary employees, including those placed by staffing agencies, are covered too.

There are a few narrow exceptions, including certain employees covered by collective bargaining agreements that provide equivalent sick leave and certain airline flight crew. If you are unsure whether an exception applies to you, ask for the written policy and check it with an attorney.

You start accruing sick leave on your first day of work, and you can begin using it on your 90th day of employment.

Several California cities have their own paid sick leave ordinances that can be more generous than state law. The City of Los Angeles, for example, generally requires at least 48 hours a year. When local and state law differ, your employer must generally follow whichever is more protective.

By the numbers40 hours

How much sick leave you get

Since January 1, 2024, employers must allow you to use at least 40 hours or 5 days of paid sick leave in each year of employment, calendar year or 12-month period, whichever is greater. Employers can provide it in one of two main ways:

• Accrual: you earn at least 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. Employers using an accrual method may also meet the rule by providing at least 24 hours by your 120th day and 40 hours by your 200th day.
• Front-loading: the employer gives you the full 40 hours or 5 days at the start of each year.

Under an accrual method, unused sick leave carries over to the next year, but your employer may cap total accrued sick leave at 80 hours or 10 days, and may limit how much you use in a year to 40 hours or 5 days. When you hit the cap, you stop accruing until you use some. Under front-loading, the employer does not have to allow carryover.

Your employer must show how much sick leave you have available on your pay stub or in a separate written notice provided on payday (Labor Code 246(i)). A combined PTO policy is lawful if it meets all of these minimums.

💡 Example: Dev is a respiratory therapist who works three 12-hour shifts a week. Five days of sick leave for Dev means five 12-hour shifts, or 60 hours, which is more than 40, so his employer must allow him to use 60 hours a year. His coworker Lucia works 6-hour shifts; 5 of her days total only 30 hours, so the 40-hour minimum applies to her.

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What you can use sick leave for

Under Labor Code 246.5, you can use paid sick days for:

• ✅ Diagnosis, care or treatment of an existing health condition, or preventive care, for yourself.
• ✅ The same purposes for a family member: your child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild or sibling, regardless of age or dependency, and one designated person you identify.
• ✅ “Safe time” if you or a family member are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking or another qualifying act of violence, for purposes such as obtaining relief, medical or counseling services, or safety planning.

Preventive care includes routine checkups, dental cleanings and vaccinations. Your employer may limit the designated person to one per 12-month period.

Some losses and events have their own separate leave laws. For example, California also provides reproductive loss leave and job-protected family and medical leave under the California Family Rights Act. Paid sick leave can often be used during those leaves.

Notice, documentation and how you must be paid

Notice. If the need for leave is foreseeable, such as a scheduled appointment, you must give reasonable advance notice. If it is not foreseeable, you must give notice as soon as practicable. You can make the request orally or in writing.

No replacement requirement. Your employer cannot require you to search for or find a replacement worker as a condition of using paid sick days.

Reasons and doctor’s notes. The sick leave law does not require you to disclose your diagnosis or the details of your condition in order to use paid sick days, and the Labor Commissioner has taken the position that employers generally should not deny sick leave, or require documentation as a condition of using it, when an employee follows the notice rules. This area can involve overlap with other laws, so if your employer demands a note for a short absence, get advice before assuming either side is right.

Minimum increments. Your employer can require you to use sick leave in reasonable minimum increments, but not more than two hours.

Pay. Sick leave for non-exempt employees is generally paid at your regular rate for the workweek, or by an average-pay method based on the prior 90 days, and must be paid no later than the next regular payday after you use it.

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Retaliation for using sick leave is illegal

Labor Code 246.5 prohibits an employer from denying your right to use accrued sick days, or from firing, threatening, demoting, suspending or otherwise discriminating against you for using sick leave, attempting to use it, filing a complaint, or cooperating in an investigation.

The law also creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if the employer takes one of those actions within 30 days after you file a sick-leave complaint with the Labor Commissioner, cooperate in an investigation, or oppose a policy that violates the sick leave law. The employer then has to prove a legitimate reason.

A common problem is the attendance “points” system. Counting protected sick days as absences that lead to discipline can violate the law. If you were fired after calling in sick or complaining about sick leave, see our guide on retaliation claims in California.

By the numbers30 days

Penalties and how sick leave is enforced

Violation	Possible remedy	Law
Sick days unlawfully withheld	Three times the value of the sick days withheld, or $250, whichever is greater, up to $4,000	Labor Code 248.5
Violation causing other harm, such as firing	$50 for each day the violation continued, up to $4,000	Labor Code 248.5
Retaliation for using sick leave or complaining	Reinstatement, lost wages and other relief	Labor Code 246.5, 98.6
Violations affecting coworkers	Civil penalties through PAGA	Labor Code 2698 et seq.

The sick leave law is enforced mainly by the Labor Commissioner and through PAGA. Retaliation can also support claims under other statutes, and a firing can lead to a wrongful termination case. A Labor Commissioner retaliation complaint generally must be filed within one year (Labor Code 98.7). Our guide on Labor Commissioner claims versus hiring a lawyer explains your options.

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What happens to sick leave when you leave a job

Unlike vacation, unused paid sick leave generally does not have to be paid out when your employment ends (Labor Code 246(g)). But if your employer uses a combined PTO policy that covers vacation, the whole PTO balance generally must be paid out like vacation. Our guide to vacation payout explains why.

If you are rehired by the same employer within one year, your previously accrued, unused sick leave generally must be reinstated, and you can use it right away.

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What to do if your sick leave rights are violated

1. Check your pay stubs for your sick leave balance and how sick days were paid.
2. Get the written policy, including any attendance or points policy.
3. Keep copies of your requests and your employer’s responses, including texts.
4. Write down any discipline that followed a sick day, and when it happened.
5. Request your payroll records and personnel file in writing (Labor Code 226 and 1198.5).
6. Act quickly if you were fired. Retaliation complaints have short deadlines, and an attorney can tell you which claims apply.

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Sick leave problems are often the tip of the iceberg

A denied sick day is sometimes the first sign of a bigger problem. If your absence was related to a serious health condition, pregnancy or a family member’s care, you may also have rights to job-protected leave under the California Family Rights Act, which covers employers with five or more employees. Our guide to FMLA and CFRA leave rights explains those protections.

If your own condition qualifies as a disability, your employer may also have a duty under FEHA to provide a reasonable accommodation, such as time off or a modified schedule, and to engage in a good-faith interactive process. And employers that miscount sick pay often make the same mistakes with overtime, final pay and wage statements. We look at every claim, not just the missed sick day.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I use sick leave in my first month?

You begin accruing on day one, but your employer can make you wait until your 90th day of employment to use it.

Can my employer make me use sick leave in full-day blocks?

No. The employer can set a minimum increment, but it cannot be more than two hours.

Does sick leave carry over to next year?

Under an accrual system, yes, subject to a cap of 80 hours or 10 days. Under front-loading, the employer doesn’t have to allow carryover.

Can I use sick leave to care for my grandmother or a close friend?

Yes for a grandparent. For someone outside the listed relationships, you can generally name one designated person per year.

Is my unused sick leave paid out when I quit?

Generally not, unless it is part of a combined PTO policy, which is paid out like vacation.

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