City and county laws
Philadelphia: employers with 10 or more employees must give paid sick leave, smaller ones unpaid; 1 hour per 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year. Source: phila.gov↗ (opens in a new tab)
Penalties
No specific state penalty in statute Source: dol.gov↗ (opens in a new tab)
Recent changes
Philadelphia's POWER Act, signed 27 May 2025, amended its worker protection laws. From 1 July 2026, tipped workers' paid sick leave rate in Philadelphia is $17.88 an hour. Source: phila.gov↗ (opens in a new tab)
The law and where to check
The law: No state paid sick leave statute (opens in a new tab)
The agency: Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (opens in a new tab)
What federal law says
No federal law requires private employers to give paid sick leave. Federal contractors must give up to 7 days a year under Executive Order 13706. Source: U.S. Department of Labor↗ (opens in a new tab) Source: U.S. DOL — EO 13706↗ (opens in a new tab)
Paid sick leave checklist for Pennsylvania employers
A simple order of work, based on the rules above. It is not a legal checklist.
- Check whether your business size is covered by the rule above.
- Set up accrual in your payroll or HR system (or front-load the yearly amount).
- Write a sick leave policy covering accrual, the cap, carryover, notice and documentation.
- Show each employee's balance where your state requires it.
- Check for city or county sick leave laws where your staff work.
- Keep records of time earned and used.
More Pennsylvania employment law guides
- All Pennsylvania employment laws
- Pennsylvania final paycheck law
- Pennsylvania meal and rest break laws
- Pennsylvania overtime law
- Pennsylvania pay frequency law
- Pennsylvania vacation and PTO payout law
- Pennsylvania new hire reporting
- Pennsylvania at-will exceptions
Paid sick leave laws in other states
See every state on one page, or pick a state:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Sources
All official government sources, last checked October 19, 2026.
Disclaimer: This guide provides general information based on publicly available official sources and is for information only. It is not legal, tax, payroll or employment-law advice and does not guarantee compliance with federal, state or local requirements. Rules can depend on your location, industry, contracts and other circumstances, and laws change. Always check the official source, the relevant government agency or a qualified professional before making a decision. MadyHR.ai accepts no responsibility for any action taken based on this page.
Last checked: . Every rule and source link on this page was checked against the official government source on this date. Laws change, so always open the source link before you act.