R48921 — Paid Sick Leave in the United States
Reports · published 2026-04-28 · v1 · Active · crsreports.congress.gov ↗
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- Sarah A. Donovan
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R48921
Summary
Paid sick leave is generally a compensated, excused absence from work for the purposes of medical recovery, treatment, or examination. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 80% of private sector workers had access to paid sick leave in March 2025, but the availability of leave was not uniform across occupations and industries. While federal law generally does not entitle private sector employees to paid sick leave, 18 states (including the District of Columbia) have laws that require private sector employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees and 3 additional states require employers to provide paid leave that can be used for any purpose. Some employers who are not covered by state leave mandates elect to include paid sick leave as part of their compensation packages, or provide it as part of collective bargaining agreements with employees. Congress has considered a range of proposals to expand workers’ access to paid sick leave, including by mandating employer-provided paid sick leave or by allowing employees to be compensated for overtime hours in paid leave in lieu of overtime pay (“comp time”). Proponents of federal policies to increase access to paid sick leave often cite its potential to improve worker well-being, workplace productivity, and public health. While recognizing possible gains, some observers have cautioned that federal leave policies should account for employers’ costs or allow employers to tailor leave policies to the specific needs of their workplaces. This report provides an overview of employees’ access to paid sick leave in the United States, discusses state laws that create an entitlement to such leave and research on the impacts of these mandates, and describes recent federal proposals to increase access to paid sick leave.
Bills cited (7)
Curated by CRS — every bill listed in this report's relatedMaterials. Edge type cited_in_report, gold confidence.
- HR 7531 — Healthy Families Act · 119th Cong
- HR 4763 — PTO Act · 119th Cong
- S 3869 — Healthy Families Act · 119th Cong
- S 3396 — Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act · 119th Cong
- HR 2870 — Working Families Flexibility Act of 2025 · 119th Cong
- S 1158 — Working Families Flexibility Act of 2025 · 119th Cong
- HR 3255 — Freight Rail Workforce Health and Safety Act · 118th Cong