Do Employees in Austin, Texas Have the Right to Use Paid Sick Leave?

Employees in Austin, Texas have the right to use paid sick leave as soon as it accrues. Companies with 15 or more employees are limited to 64 hours of paid sick leave per 12-month period, while companies with 15 or fewer employees are limited to 48 hours. Employers can impose a 60-day waiting period on employees who have been employed for less than one year. At least once a month, employers must provide each employee with a statement showing the amount of accumulated sick time available to them.

Employees can transfer up to 64 or 48 hours (depending on the size of the employer) to the next 12-month period, but employers are not required to allow this transfer. Employers can also limit the annual use of paid vacation to 64 or 48 hours per employee. In addition, employees can use paid sick leave to seek medical care, relocate, obtain services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or harassment involving the employee or a family member. In some states, employers are required to pay employees for this time off, while in others it is unpaid time off.

Companies must post a notice in English and Spanish at every facility where any eligible employee works. Under the Ordinance, employees are entitled to sick leave if they perform at least 80 hours of work in a calendar year for a company covered by insurance. Employees must be able to start using accumulated paid sick leave no later than 60 calendar days after the start of their employment. The “wait and see what happens” approach could cause morale problems for employees who want this paid sick leave.

Texas does not have any state laws that require private companies to offer paid sick leave, but three major cities in Texas (Dallas, San Antonio and Austin) recently passed ordinances that would require nearly all employers with employees working in those cities to provide paid sick leave to those employees. The Paid Time Off (PTO) is almost always part of a company's employee leave policy and must be clearly defined in each employee's employment contract or agreement. Whether or not the employee opts for the leave provided by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or not, or is required to do so, the leave is still protected by the FMLA, so continued medical coverage and the guarantee of employment at the end of the leave apply. Employees in Austin have the right to use paid sick leave as soon as it accrues without having to wait any period of time.

Companies with 15 or more workers are limited to 64 hours of paid sick leave per 12-month period while companies with 15 or fewer workers are limited to 48 hours. Employers may impose a 60-day waiting period on employees who have been employed for less than one year but must provide each employee with a statement showing their available sick time at least once a month. Employees can transfer up to 64 or 48 hours (depending on employer size) into the next 12-month period but employers are not obligated to allow this transfer. Employers may also limit annual use of paid vacation to 64 or 48 hours per employee.

Paid sick leave can be used for medical care, relocation, obtaining services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault or harassment involving an employee or family member. Depending on state laws, employers may be required to pay employees for this time off or it may be unpaid time off. Companies must post notices in English and Spanish at every facility where eligible employees work and employees must be able to start using accumulated paid sick leave no later than 60 calendar days after beginning employment. The “wait and see what happens” approach could cause morale issues among employees who want access to paid sick leave.

Texas does not have any state laws that require private companies to offer paid sick leave but three major cities in Texas (Dallas, San Antonio and Austin) recently passed ordinances that would require nearly all employers with employees working in those cities to provide paid sick leave. Paid Time Off (PTO) is usually part of an employee's leave policy and must be clearly defined in each employee's employment contract or agreement. Even if an employee opts out of taking FMLA-provided leave or is required to do so, their leave is still protected by FMLA so continued medical coverage and job guarantee at end of leave still apply.