Maintained • California, Colorado, Florida...Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin
State-specific resources to help employers comply with legal requirements associated with employees taking leaves of absence from work, including leave for civic duty, family and medical disability or illness, and pregnancy and parental obligations. For jurisdiction neutral resources, see Employee Leave Toolkit.
Employers often struggle to comply with their legal obligation to provide job-protected leave from employment. There is no single, uniform rule governing leave. Instead, leave law is made up of multiple, complex, and interrelated rules.
Failure to comply with leave law requirements can result in substantial legal and financial consequences. For example, employers may be required to pay lost wages, double damages, and attorneys' fees. Additional legal consequences may include mandated employee reinstatement or promotion and other injunctive relief.
Understanding the core requirements of employee leave law helps employers avoid penalties and promote compliance. An employee may need a leave of absence for:
Civic duty obligations.
Personal and family disability or illness.
Pregnancy and parental obligations.
Sick and personal time off.
This Employee Leave Toolkit provides information on best practices for responding to state-specific employee leave issues, including resources to help employers respond to leave requests, comply with leave laws, and minimize litigation risk.