COVID-19 and Your Workplace Rights: Caring for Yourself and Your Family
If you or a loved one is sick with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) or under an isolation or quarantine order, what are your legal rights? If your child’s school is closed, can you stay home? We’re updating this page with all the information you need to know about your legal rights as your care for yourself and your loved ones amid COVID-19.
If you or a loved one is sick with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) or under an isolation or quarantine order, what are your legal rights? If your child’s school is closed, can you stay home? We’re updating this page with all the information you need to know about your legal rights as your care for yourself and your loved ones amid COVID-19.
Federal COVID-19 specific laws & guidance:
- FAQ: Pregnancy, COVID-19, & Your Workplace Rights
- EEOC Issues Guidance for the ADA & Pandemic Preparations in the Workplace
- Analysis of The Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the CARES Act* (*Laws expired, December 2020)
Paid leave for vaccination:
State paid sick time FAQs:
New York resources:
Recursos en español:
13 states, Washington D.C., and dozens of localities guarantee workers a right to paid sick time. ‘Closure provisions‘ in the laws in many jurisdictions also enable workers to stay home to protect their health and their families during times of public health emergencies.
For the full list of permanent paid sick time laws and an FAQ on each law, see below.
States:
- Arizona*
- California
- Colorado (en español) * law partially in effect as of 1/1/21 (flyer/en español)
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan*
- New Jersey*
- New Mexico
- New York State (en español)
- Oregon*
- Rhode Island*
- Washington State*
- Vermont*
*laws have ‘closure provisions’ that enable you to use paid sick time when your workplace or child’s school is closed
Counties & Cities:
- California: Berkeley | Emeryville | Los Angeles | Oakland | San Diego* | San Francisco | Santa Monica
- Illinois: Cook County and Chicago*
- Maryland: Montgomery County*
- Minnesota: Duluth* | Minneapolis* | Saint Paul*
- New York: New York City* (en español)
- Pennsylvania: Philadelphia | Pittsburgh* | Allegheny County*
- Washington State: Seattle* | Tacoma*
*laws have ‘closure provisions’ that enable you to use paid sick time when your workplace or child’s school is closed
To compare the statewide and local paid sick time laws above, please see A Better Balance’s interactive and customizable comparison chart.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, states, cities, and counties throughout the U.S. have acted to protect workers affected by the virus by enacting emergency paid sick leave policies.
On March 18, 2020, New York State passed an emergency paid sick time law—an effort we were proud to help lead. Our fact sheet on New York State’s Emergency Paid Sick Leave Legislation is available here.
On June 15, 2020, Colorado passed a paid sick time law for both permanent paid sick time and public health emergency leave. ABB worked on the ground in Colorado on bill drafting and played a key role in its passage. In addition to guaranteeing permanent paid sick leave for general health and safety needs, Colorado’s law entitles workers to additional paid sick leave for COVID-19 purposes. Our flyer on Colorado’s paid sick leave law and COVID-19 is available here.
For more updates on emergency paid sick leave laws, orders, and measures around the country, please see our chart here.
9 states and Washington, D.C. have enacted paid family and medical leave laws. These laws may enable you to take longer-term, job-protected paid leave to care for a seriously ill loved one or your own medical condition when affected by COVID-19.
To learn more about these rights, visit our Comparative Chart of Paid Family and Medical Leave Laws in the United States.
We are working with states and local governments across the country as they seek to enact emergency paid sick time and other workplace health and safety measures to address this crisis. We will update this page with information about those laws are they are enacted.
We have also developed key principles and model emergency sick time laws that could help address access to sick time in your jurisdiction:
- Paid Sick Time During a Public Health Emergency: Key Policy Elements to Include in an Emergency Paid Sick Time Bill
- Model Law: Establishing a Permanent Right to Paid Sick and Safe Time that Includes Additional Leave for a Public Health Emergency (2020)
- Model Law: Establishing Paid Sick Time Leave for a Public Health Emergency (2020)
We have also developed a blueprint for state and local governments in the South to protect the health and economic security of workers and families:
On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department released its final rule on the state and local American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds and confirmed that creating, expanding, or financially supporting paid sick time, paid family leave, and paid medical leave are permissible uses of these funds. Learn more in our fact sheet:
We have also developed with the National Employment Law Project (NELP) and Economic Policy Institute (EPI) model policies to guarantee premium pay, paid sick days, COVID-19 worker health and safety, and protection against retaliation:
Workplace Rights Hub
Click here for resources on using the American Rescue Plan (ARP) state and local fiscal recovery funds to create, expand, or financially support paid sick time, paid family leave, and paid medical leave programs.
A Better Balance is here to provide workers with information about their rights around caring for themselves and their loved ones. If you still have questions, contact our free, confidential legal helpline.