Employers in the City of Los Angeles must let employees use up to 48 hours of paid sick leave per year, more than the 40 hours California requires. The city’s ordinance sits on top of California paid sick leave law. Where the two differ, employers follow whichever rule is more generous to the employee, one rule at a time, except on a short list of topics where state law controls.
This guide answers the most common questions, compares Los Angeles and California rules side by side, works through the calculations employers get wrong most often, and covers edge cases like exempt employees and hotel workers. It reflects the City’s 2026 Minimum Wage Ordinance notice and the California Labor Commissioner’s current guidance.
Common Questions About Los Angeles Paid Sick Leave
Who can take paid sick leave in Los Angeles?
Employees who work at least 2 hours in a particular week within the City of Los Angeles and who work for the same employer for at least 30 days within a year. Part-time and temporary employees qualify on the same terms. The City’s Office of Wage Standards takes the position that bona fide executive, administrative and professional employees aren’t covered by the ordinance. Those employees still earn paid sick leave under state law.
Which employers have to provide this leave?
Every employer with employees who meet the coverage test above, regardless of size or where the employer is based. A company headquartered outside the city still owes Los Angeles paid sick leave to employees who work in the city.
How much leave do employers need to provide?
Employers can choose one of two methods. They can award 48 hours at the start of each year, or let employees accrue 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, starting on the first day of employment. Either way, employees can begin using their leave on their 90th day of employment.
What can Los Angeles paid sick leave be used for?
The employee’s or a family member’s illness, injury or health condition, including diagnosis, care, treatment and preventive care, and needs related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Because California’s rules apply where they’re more generous, employees in Los Angeles can also use paid sick leave for the reasons state law has added since 2025, such as jury duty, court appearances as a witness, and court proceedings for crime victims.
Los Angeles defines family broadly. Along with spouses, domestic partners, children, parents, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren, it covers anyone related by blood or whose close association with the employee is equivalent to a family relationship.
How does this relate to other types of leave?
An employer that already provides at least 48 hours of compensated time off a year, such as through a PTO policy covering vacation, sick and personal days, doesn’t need to provide additional paid sick leave. The Office of Wage Standards can also approve a policy that doesn’t match the ordinance line by line if it’s more generous overall.
Hotel workers have separate time-off rules under the Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance, covered in the edge cases section below.
Can employers limit how many hours of sick leave employees use in a year?
Yes, to 48 hours per year under the city ordinance. But state law requires employers to allow at least 40 hours or five days, whichever is more, so an employee who works 12-hour shifts can use 60 hours. Employers can also cap an employee’s balance, but the cap can’t be lower than 72 hours.
Can employers provide all the leave at once instead of letting it accrue?
Yes, by awarding the full 48 hours at the start of the year. This is where Los Angeles departs from state law. Under California law, an employer that frontloads the full amount doesn’t have to allow carryover. In Los Angeles, unused leave carries over to the following year whether it was accrued or frontloaded.
Do employers have to carry over unused leave?
Yes. Accrued and unused leave carries over to the following year, subject to the employer’s balance cap, which can’t be set below 72 hours. Employers can choose to pay out hours above the cap at the end of the year.
What is the smallest amount of leave an employee can use?
Employers can set a minimum increment of up to two hours. They can’t require employees to take leave in larger blocks.
How much do employers have to pay for sick leave?
Pay is calculated the same way as under state law, which controls this topic. For non-exempt employees, employers use either the regular non-overtime rate for the workweek in which leave is used, or total pay over the previous 90 days, excluding overtime premiums, divided by non-overtime hours worked in that period. Sick leave must be paid no later than the next regular payday.
What notice do employers and employees need to provide?
Employers must post the City’s Minimum Wage Ordinance notice, which covers paid sick leave, in a place employees can see it. It must be posted in English and in any other language spoken by at least 5% of employees at the worksite. State posting and pay stub requirements also apply; see California labor law poster requirements.
Employees should give reasonable advance notice when leave is foreseeable, and notify the employer as soon as practicable when it isn’t. State law sets the notice rules for foreseeable leave.
What verification can employers ask for?
Employers can require reasonable documentation when an employee uses paid sick leave for more than three consecutive days. The request can’t be so burdensome that it discourages employees from taking leave, and employers can’t require employees to describe their illness or condition.
Are employees’ jobs and benefits protected when they take this leave?
Yes. Employers can’t retaliate against employees for requesting or using paid sick leave, and employees can file claims or report retaliation with the Office of Wage Standards. Unused leave doesn’t have to be paid out at separation, but if an employee is rehired within one year, previously accrued, unused leave must be reinstated. See the California employee separation guide and checklist for final pay rules.
Los Angeles vs. California Paid Sick Leave
Both laws use the same accrual rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked and the same 90-day wait before leave can be used. The differences that matter most for policy design:
| Rule | California | City of Los Angeles |
| Who’s covered | Employees who work 30+ days for the employer in California within a year | Employees who work 2+ hours in a week in the city and 30+ days for the employer within a year. The City excludes bona fide executive, administrative and professional employees |
| Annual use employers can cap | 40 hours or 5 days, whichever is more | 48 hours |
| Frontloaded amount | At least 40 hours or 5 days | At least 48 hours |
| Carryover when leave is frontloaded | Not required | Required |
| Balance cap employers can set | Not below 80 hours or 10 days, whichever is more | Not below 72 hours |
| Topics where state law controls | Lending leave, pay stub reporting, pay calculation, notice for foreseeable leave, payment timing, payout at separation | Follows state law on all six |
Because the more generous rule applies one rule at a time, a Los Angeles policy usually ends up combining both: the city’s 48-hour use limit and frontloading carryover, plus the state’s five-day minimum and 80-hour balance floor for employees on long shifts.
Los Angeles Sick Leave Calculations: Three Examples
Frontloaded leave carries over
A full-time employee receives 48 hours on January 1, 2026, and uses none of it. On January 1, 2027, those 48 hours carry over and the employer frontloads another 48, for a balance of 96 hours. If the employer caps balances at 72 hours, it can reduce the balance by 24 hours to 72, or pay out the extra 24. Under state law alone, the employer could have skipped carryover entirely.
An employee on 12-hour shifts
An employee works 12-hour shifts. The city’s 48-hour use limit would cover only four shifts, but state law requires employers to allow at least five days of use, so the employer must allow 60 hours. The balance cap works the same way: 10 days at 12 hours is 120 hours, so the employer can’t cap this employee’s balance below 120 hours, even though the city’s floor is 72.
Accruing to the limit
A full-time employee on an accrual policy works 40 hours a week. At 1 hour per 30 hours worked, they earn 48 hours after 1,440 hours of work, or 36 weeks. They can keep accruing past 48, up to the employer’s balance cap of at least 72 hours, but the employer can limit their use to 48 hours in the year.
“The carryover rule is the one I’d check first in any Los Angeles policy. Employers who frontload often assume they’ve opted out of carryover, because that’s how state law works. In Los Angeles they haven’t, and the mistake usually goes unnoticed until an employee runs out of leave they should have had.” — Ryan Parker, Esq.
Edge Cases Los Angeles Employers Should Know
Exempt employees
The Office of Wage Standards takes the position that bona fide executive, administrative and professional employees aren’t covered by the city ordinance. Those employees still get paid sick leave under state law: at least 40 hours or five days a year, under the state’s rules on frontloading and carryover. Employers can apply the city’s 48 hours to everyone, or run state rules for exempt staff and city rules for everyone else.
“My advice is usually to give exempt employees in Los Angeles the same 48 hours as everyone else. Splitting the policy saves a few hours of leave per person, but it means two sets of rules for one office, and that’s where mistakes happen.” — Ryan Parker, Esq.
Hotel workers
Hotel workers covered by the Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance get a separate, larger time-off benefit. Full-time workers earn 96 hours of compensated time off a year for sick leave, vacation or personal necessity, plus at least 80 hours of unpaid time off for their own or an immediate family member’s illness once their paid time is used up. Workers can use the paid time after six months of employment, or sooner under company policy.
Unused paid time carries over up to 192 hours, and hours above that cap must be paid out every 30 days. Part-time workers accrue in proportion to their hours. These requirements can be waived in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement that says so explicitly.
Employees outside city limits
Plenty of workplaces with a Los Angeles mailing address are outside city limits, in separate cities like Burbank, Culver City or Santa Monica, or in unincorporated Los Angeles County, which has its own paid sick leave ordinance. Coverage depends on where the employee actually works, so check each worksite’s jurisdiction before applying the city’s rules.
PTO policies
A PTO policy that provides at least 48 hours of compensated time off a year satisfies the city ordinance, but it still has to meet state rules on use, carryover and pay. When updating a combined policy, check it against both. See California employee handbook requirements and how to choose a California employee handbook builder.
Simplify Los Angeles Paid Sick Leave with SixFifty
Los Angeles employers have to follow city and state paid sick leave rules at the same time. SixFifty helps employers keep their policies aligned with both, with less administrative work for HR. Schedule a free demo today, explore the paid leave policy creator, or see paid sick leave laws and requirements by state.
