Nevada requires private employers with 50 or more employees in the state to provide paid leave that employees can use for any reason, without explaining why. Under NRS 608.0197, employees earn 0.01923 hours of paid leave for every hour worked, which comes to 40 hours a year for a full-time employee. Businesses in their first two years of operation are exempt.
A separate law, NRS 608.01975, requires employers that provide sick leave to let employees use some of it to care for immediate family members. This guide explains who the paid leave law covers, answers the most common questions, walks through family use and PTO scenarios, and covers the administration mistakes employers make most often.
Does Nevada’s Paid Leave Law Apply to You?
Work through these questions in order:
- Do you have 50 or more employees in private employment in Nevada? If not, the paid leave law doesn’t apply, though the family sick leave rule may still apply if you offer sick leave.
- Have you been in business in Nevada for more than two years? If not, you’re exempt until your third year of operation.
- Is the employee temporary, seasonal or on-call? If so, the law doesn’t cover that employee.
- Do you already give all scheduled employees paid leave or PTO at a rate of at least 0.01923 hours per hour worked? If so, through a contract, policy or collective bargaining agreement, the paid leave law doesn’t apply to you.
An employer that answers yes to the first two questions and no to the last must follow the law’s rules on accrual, use, carryover, pay and notice for every covered employee.
“The equivalent-policy exemption is broader than it looks, and also more fragile. If your PTO plan gives every scheduled employee leave at the statutory rate, the paid leave law doesn’t apply to you at all. But the exemption depends on covering all scheduled employees. A plan that leaves out part-timers or a single location can put you back under the full law. The Legislature considered removing this exemption in 2025, so check its status before relying on it.” — Ryan Parker, Esq.
Common Questions About Nevada Paid Leave
Who can take paid leave in Nevada?
Employees of covered employers, except temporary, seasonal and on-call employees. Part-time employees accrue leave on the hours they work.
Which employers have to provide this leave?
Private employers with 50 or more employees in Nevada that have been operating for more than two years. Employers that already provide all scheduled employees paid leave or PTO at the statutory rate or better are exempt.
How much leave do employers need to provide?
At least 0.01923 hours of paid leave for each hour worked. A full-time employee working 2,080 hours a year earns 40 hours. A part-time employee working 25 hours a week earns about 25 hours over a year. Employers set the benefit year, which can be any 365-day period.
What can Nevada paid leave be used for?
Any reason. Employees don’t have to tell the employer why they’re taking leave, and employers can’t require them to.
How does this relate to other types of leave?
A PTO policy that gives all scheduled employees leave at a rate of at least 0.01923 hours per hour worked exempts the employer from the paid leave law. Employers that offer sick leave separately must also follow the family sick leave rule described below.
Can employers limit how many hours of leave employees use in a year?
Yes. Employers can limit use to 40 hours per benefit year.
Can employers provide all the leave at once instead of letting it accrue?
Yes. Employers can give employees the full amount for the benefit year on its first day instead of tracking accrual. The law’s carryover rule applies only to accrued leave, so employers that frontload don’t have to carry unused hours forward.
Do employers have to carry over unused leave?
Under an accrual policy, yes. Employees can carry unused leave into the next benefit year, and employers can cap carryover at 40 hours.
When can employees start using leave?
On the 90th calendar day of employment. Leave accrues from the first day, but employers can make employees wait until day 90 to use it.
What is the smallest amount of leave an employee can use?
Employers can set a minimum increment of up to 4 hours.
How much do employers have to pay for leave?
Hourly employees are paid their hourly rate. Employees paid by salary, commission, piece rate or another method are paid based on their total wages over the previous 90 days divided by the hours they worked in that period. That calculation includes earned, agreed-upon bonuses, but excludes discretionary bonuses, overtime, hazard pay, holiday pay and tips. Leave is paid on the payday when the hours would normally have been paid.
What notice do employers and employees need to provide?
Employers must post the Labor Commissioner’s paid leave bulletin in each workplace and give employees an accounting of their available leave on each payday, which can be done through the payroll system. Employers that offer sick leave must also post the family sick leave notice. See Nevada labor law poster requirements for the full list.
Employees must give notice of their need for leave as soon as practicable.
What verification can employers ask for?
None. Because leave can be used for any reason, employers can’t require employees to give a reason or provide documentation.
Are employees’ jobs and benefits protected when they take this leave?
Yes. Employers can’t deny leave that complies with the law, require employees to find a replacement, or retaliate against them for using it. Employers must keep records of leave accrued and used for one year after each entry and provide them to the Labor Commissioner on request.
Employers can choose to pay out unused leave at separation, but the law doesn’t require it. If an employee who didn’t quit voluntarily is rehired within 90 days, their unused leave must be reinstated. See the Nevada employee separation guide and checklist for other final pay rules.
Using Sick Leave for Family Members
Under NRS 608.01975, an employer that provides sick leave, paid or unpaid, must let employees use their accrued sick leave to care for an immediate family member with an illness, injury, medical appointment or other authorized medical need, on the same terms as their own sick leave. Employers can limit this family use, but not below the amount of sick leave the employee accrues in six months.
Immediate family members are children, foster children, spouses, domestic partners, siblings, parents, parents-in-law, grandchildren, grandparents, stepparents, and anyone the employee is the legal guardian of. The rule doesn’t apply to employees covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement.
A full-time employee caring for a parent
An employer offers 40 hours of sick leave a year and limits family use to the minimum. A full-time employee accrues about 20 hours in six months, so the employer must let her use at least 20 hours to take her father to medical appointments and care for him after surgery. She can use the rest for her own illness.
An employee with a child’s medical appointments
An employee wants to use sick leave for his son’s weekly therapy sessions. The employer can apply the same notice and increment rules it uses for the employee’s own sick leave, but it can’t impose stricter conditions because the leave is for a family member.
“Employers with an any-reason paid leave policy often ask whether the family rule applies to them. Because employees can already use any-reason leave for family care, the question usually only matters when the employer also has a separate sick leave bank. That’s the bank where a family-use limit has to meet the six-month floor.” — Ryan Parker, Esq.
PTO and Pay Examples
Paying leave for a salaried employee
A salaried manager earned $13,500 in the 90 days before taking leave and worked 540 hours in that period. Her leave rate is $25 an hour, so 8 hours of leave pays $200. If she’d also received a discretionary holiday bonus during that period, it would be left out of the calculation.
Frontloading versus accrual
An employer that frontloads 40 hours on the first day of each benefit year doesn’t have to carry unused hours forward or track accrual. The tradeoff is that employees hired mid-year, and employees who leave early, have access to the full amount. An employer that uses accrual tracks hours every pay period and carries up to 40 unused hours into the next year, but never provides more than employees have earned.
A 4-hour minimum increment
An employer sets a 4-hour minimum. An employee who needs to leave two hours early for a personal matter uses 4 hours of leave. That’s allowed, but employers should weigh it against how often employees will burn through their 40 hours on short absences.
Common Nevada Paid Leave Administration Mistakes
- Asking why. Leave can be used for any reason, so policies or managers that require a reason or a doctor’s note violate the law.
- Paying non-hourly employees the wrong rate. Salaried, commissioned and piece-rate employees are paid based on the 90-day average, not a flat daily amount.
- Leaving out the payday balance. Employees must see their available leave on each payday.
- Reinstating the wrong employees. Rehired employees get their leave back only if they return within 90 days and didn’t quit voluntarily.
- Losing the equivalent-policy exemption. A PTO plan that doesn’t cover every scheduled employee at the statutory rate doesn’t qualify.
- Forgetting the family use floor. Employers with a separate sick leave bank can’t limit family use below six months of accrual.
“The two-year new-business exemption is the one I see misread most. It runs from when the business began operating, not from when it reached 50 employees, so a fast-growing company may already be covered.” — Ryan Parker, Esq.
For handbook updates, see Nevada employee handbook requirements and SixFifty’s employee handbook builder for multi-state employers.
Simplify Nevada Paid Leave with SixFifty
Nevada’s any-reason leave, family sick leave rule and pay calculations each have their own requirements. SixFifty helps employers keep their policies aligned with state law, 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.
