Pennsylvania Sick and Safe Leave

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This guide provides essential information about Pennsylvania sick and safe leave and how it applies to your business.

Pennsylvania has no state-level sick leave requirements; however, several local cities and counties maintain their own leave laws. Please refer to the list below for specific city or county regulations.

Local Paid Sick and Safe Leave

Several cities and counties in Pennsylvania have separate paid sick and safe leave regulations and ordinances. Jurisdictions with paid sick leave ordinances are listed below, and that list continues to grow. 

If more than one paid sick leave law applies, you must comply with the provisions of each law that most benefit the employee. Your paid sick leave policy and practices should be reviewed periodically by your legal counsel for the states and localities in which your employees are working to ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, and to ensure that your policy and practices are appropriate to your particular situation.

Local law Amount Carryover rules Additional notice requirements

Allegheny County


 

The ordinance applies only to employers with 26 or more employees.
  • Accrue 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 35 hours worked or,
  • Total leave allotment can be provided as a lump sum (40 hours) at the start of the year (frontloaded).
  • Accrued and unused time must carry over to the next year
  • If frontloaded, no carryover is required
  • Notice must be both posted conspicuously and distributed to new hires 
  • Paycheck reporting requirements

Philadelphia


 

Paid sick leave required for 10+ employees; unpaid for those with 9 or fewer.
  • Accrue 1 hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked or,
  • Total leave allotment can be provided as a lump sum (40 hours) at the start of the year (frontloaded).
  • Accrued and unused time must carry over to the next year
  • If frontloaded, no carryover is required
  • Employers may cap sick leave usage at 40 hours per year.
  • Notice must be both posted conspicuously and distributed to new hires 
  • Paycheck reporting requirements


 
Pittsburgh 
  • Accrue 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, or, 
  • Total leave allotment can be provided as a lump sum at the start of the year (frontloaded).


Annual caps depend on employer size:

  • 14 or fewer employees: 48 hours 
  • 15 or more employees: 72 hours of paid sick leave
  • Accrued and unused time must carry over to the next year subject to the accrual cap. 
  • If frontloaded, no carryover is required


 
  • Notice must be both posted conspicuously and distributed to new hires 
  • Paycheck reporting requirements

You should review the law and resources at the bottom of this page to understand additional requirements under these local laws in Pennsylvania, such as increments of use, how hours are determined for exempt and salaried employees, how pay is calculated, who is a “family member,” what type of notice and documentation an employer may require, pay statement requirements, and how sick time is handled upon termination of employment.

If you set up a separate sick leave policy in Justworks as a PEO customer, we will automatically add this balance information to employees' paystubs, and it is available to your employees at any time when they log into the Justworks platform.

Interaction with an Employer’s Existing Policies

An employer’s paid time off (PTO) plan or other type of paid leave (including sick or vacation time) can satisfy this law if, at a minimum, the plan meets the law’s requirements (e.g., accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the sick leave, etc.). Additionally, nothing prohibits an employer from providing more generous leave policies than the minimum required by the law.

If you set up a separate sick leave policy in Justworks as a PEO customer, we will automatically add this balance information to employees' paystubs, and it is available to your employees at any time when they log into the Justworks platform. 

Resources & Notes

* Be sure you’re logged into your Justworks account with administrator permissions to access Mineral, which is included for Justworks PEO customers. If you’d like to learn more about Justworks PEO, contact Support at 888-534-1711.

 

Disclaimer

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal or tax advice. If you have any legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, then you should consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.

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