Sick Leave Accrual Calculator
Updated August 2026 · Free · No sign-up
Calculate paid sick leave accrual under the standard 1 hour per 30 hours worked rule — hours earned, annual caps, carryover — and which states and cities mandate paid sick time.
Quick answer: The dominant US formula: 1 hour of paid sick leave per 30 hours worked. Full-time (40 hrs/week) accrues about 1.33 hours weekly — roughly 69 hours a year, though most laws cap usage at 40-72 hours. Part-timers accrue automatically pro-rata.
The 1-per-30 Rule
US paid-sick-leave laws (California's pioneering statute and most that followed) accrue 1 hour of sick time per 30 hours worked — an elegantly self-scaling design: full-timers earn ~9 days a year, half-timers half that, and overtime hours accrue too. Employers may instead front-load the annual amount on day one (skipping accrual math and, in many laws, carryover duties). Caps come in two flavors worth distinguishing: accrual caps (total bankable, often 48-80 hours) and usage caps (spendable per year, often 24-40 hours in the older laws — many newer ones align both).
Worked Examples
Example 1 — full-time year. 2,080 hours ÷ 30 = 69.3 hours accrued (~8.7 days); with a 48-hour cap, accrual pauses at 48 until some is used.
Example 2 — part-timer. 24 hrs/week × 52 = 1,248 ÷ 30 = 41.6 hours/year — pro-rata without any policy drafting.
Example 3 — new-hire waiting period. Accrual typically starts day one, but laws commonly allow a 90-day usage wait: a hire working 40-hour weeks banks ~17 hours before first being able to spend them.
Where Paid Sick Leave Is Law
| Jurisdiction type | Examples | Typical shape |
|---|---|---|
| State mandates | CA, WA, OR, CO, AZ, NJ, NY, CT, MA, MI, MN, IL* and more | 1/30 or 1/40, 40-72 hr caps (*IL: general paid leave) |
| City ordinances | NYC, Chicago, Seattle, SF, Philadelphia… | Often more generous than the state floor |
| No mandate | TX, FL, GA and others | Policy-only; some preempt local ordinances |
| Federal contractors | EO 13706 covered contracts | 1 per 30, 56-hour cap |
Laws change frequently — verify your state/city's current rule; this calculator's ratio and cap fields adapt to any of them.
Rules That Decide Real Disputes
- Carryover: accrual-method laws generally require carrying unused hours into the new year (the cap still limits the bank); front-loading usually excuses carryover. "Use-it-or-lose-it December" under an accrual law is a violation.
- What counts as sick: statutes cover the employee's illness AND family care, preventive appointments, and — in many laws — safe-leave for domestic violence situations. Denying "it's only a checkup" is typically unlawful.
- Documentation limits: most laws bar demanding doctor's notes for short absences (commonly under 3 consecutive days).
- No payout on exit (unlike vacation in payout states) — but rehires within a window (often 12 months) get banks reinstated.
- Anti-retaliation: attendance-point systems that penalize lawful sick use are the current enforcement frontier.
Sick Leave vs PTO Banks
Employers merging everything into one PTO pool must ensure the pool satisfies the sick-law floor (accrual rate, usage rights, carryover, documentation limits) — and inherit a side effect: in vacation-payout states, the whole merged bank usually becomes payable on exit, where a separate sick bank wouldn't be. The accrual math for the combined pool lives in the PTO accrual calculator; exit values in the PTO payout calculator. Tracking your own balance against payroll's (leave balance calculator) matters here too — sick accrual errors are common where systems misconfigure the overtime-hours inclusion.
The Comparison Everyone Asks
US vs UK: the US model gives paid hours accrued from work (where mandated at all); the UK gives SSP — a flat weekly amount for up to 28 weeks regardless of accrual. Short illness favors the US worker in a mandate state (full wage for banked hours); long illness favors the UK's duration. Neither replaces income-protection insurance for serious illness — the honest gap in both systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is sick leave accrual calculated?
Divide hours worked by the accrual ratio — under the common 1-per-30 rule, 480 hours worked earns 16 hours of paid sick leave. Caps then limit the bank or annual usage.
How much sick leave do I earn per week full-time?
About 1.33 hours at 1-per-30 (40 ÷ 30) — roughly 69 hours across a full working year before caps.
What is the 1 hour per 30 hours rule?
The standard statutory accrual rate pioneered by California: one paid sick hour per 30 hours worked, automatically pro-rating for part-time and including overtime hours.
Do all states require paid sick leave?
No — roughly 15-20 states plus many cities mandate it; others leave it to policy (and some preempt local laws). Check your state and city — the map changes almost yearly.
Can sick leave be front-loaded instead of accrued?
Yes — granting the full annual amount on day one is a lawful alternative in most statutes and usually removes carryover obligations.
Does unused sick leave carry over?
Under accrual-method laws, generally yes up to the cap. Front-loaded plans typically need not carry over. Sick time is almost never paid out on exit.
Can my employer require a doctor's note?
Most laws restrict documentation demands for short absences (commonly under 3 days) and require any note only to confirm the absence, not diagnosis details.
Does sick leave accrue on overtime hours?
Yes — accrual counts hours WORKED, including overtime. Systems that accrue only on scheduled hours shortchange OT-heavy workers.
When can a new hire use sick leave?
Accrual starts at hire; laws commonly permit a usage waiting period up to 90 days. Hours bank during the wait.
Is sick leave the same as PTO?
A combined PTO bank can satisfy sick laws if it meets every floor (rate, usage, carryover) — but merging usually makes the whole bank payable on exit in vacation-payout states.
✓ Formula verified • Last updated: August 20, 2026