On February 16, 2018, the city of Austin, Texas enacted a mandatory sick leave law which will apply to all private employers. While it’s passage came with promises by members of the Texas State Legislature to push through legislation that will undo this law and prevent other municipalities from enacting their own sick leave laws, until such promises come to fruition, Austin employers should be prepared to comply with Austin’s new sick leave requirements.
Effective Date
For employers with more than 5 employees, the sick leave law will go into effect on October 1, 2018. For smaller employers with 5 employees or less, the law will not take effect until October 1, 2020.
Note: All private employers will eventually be required to comply with the new law, regardless of employee count.
Employees Who Qualify for Sick Leave
All employees who work at least 80 hours in Austin during a calendar year will be entitled to sick leave. In calculating an employee’s work hours for purposes of the sick leave law, an employees work performed through a temporary or employment agency will be counted.
The law specifically excludes independent contractors and unpaid interns.
Requirements for Accrual and Carryover
Employees will accrue sick leave as follows:
- 1 hour of sick time will accrue for every 30 hours worked in the City.
- Sick time begins accruing when the employment commences or when the sick leave law takes effect, whichever is later. Employees may begin using sick time as soon as it accrues.
- Accrual may be capped based on the size of the employer, with large employers (those with more than 15 employees) permitted to cap accrual at 64 hours of leave time per year, and smaller employers (those with 15 employees or less) permitted to cap accrual at 48 hours per year.
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