Employers with federal contracts must make certain their sick leave policies comply with federal requirements. The U.S. Department of Labor requires federal contractors with contracts renewed or awarded on or after January 1, 2017 to provide the following rights to employees working on the federal contracts:
- Employees must be allowed to accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employees must accrue and carry over at least 56 hours of sick leave each year.
- Employers may provide employees with at least 56 hours of paid sick leave at the beginning of each accrual year rather than allowing employees to accrue leave based on hours worked.
- Employees must be notified in writing of the amount of paid sick leave they have available at the end of each pay period or each month, whichever interval is shorter. If an employee can check a time entry program to see available sick leave at any time, this will be considered acceptable written notice.
- Employers are not required to pay employees for accrued, unused paid sick leave at termination of employment.
- Employers may cap to 56 hours the sick leave available at any point in time.
- If an employee is rehired within 12 months after termination and if the employee was not paid out for sick leave, any accrued, unused paid sick leave must be reinstated.
- Paid sick leave must be available for an absence resulting from: (i) physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition of the employee; (ii) obtaining diagnosis, care, or preventive care from a health care provider by the employee; (iii) caring for the employee’s child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, or any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship who has any of the conditions or need for diagnosis, care, or preventive care described in (i) or (ii); or (iv) domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, if the time absent from work is for the purposes described in (i) or (ii) or to obtain additional counseling, seek relocation, seek assistance from a victim services organization, take related legal action, or assist an individual related to the employee as described in (iii) in engaging in any of these activities.
- An employee must be able to request leave either verbally or in writing.
- An employer can require certification of the leave only if the absence lasts for 3 or more days.
Employers with federal contracts awarded or renewed this year should review their sick leave policies to confirm that they meet the applicable requirements.
