Work · Paid sick leave
Paid Sick Leave Law in Michigan
Whether an employer in Michigan must provide paid sick leave, how much you accrue, who is covered, and whether a city ordinance fills the gap where the state has no mandate. Cited to the statute.
What the paid sick leave law requires in Michigan
Who must provide it, how leave accrues and caps, and the workers the rule does not reach.
Michigan’s paid-sick-leave figures were reset in 2025 after Mothering Justice v Attorney General and the amendment in 2025 PA 2, House Bill 4002. The 72-hour and 40-hour caps and the 120-day waiting period are the post-amendment numbers. Older sources describing a 40-hour cap for all employers are stale. Confirm the current figures before relying on them.
| What the law requires | What it means |
|---|---|
| Who must provide it | Under the Earned Sick Time Act, an employer is any person or entity that employs one or more individuals, with only the United States government excluded. MCL 408.963(1) requires that employer to provide earned sick time to each of its employees in the state. Full-time, part-time, temporary, and staffing-agency workers all count. |
| Accrual rate and yearly use | Sick time accrues at one hour for every 30 hours worked. MCL 408.963(3) lets a regular employer cap use at 72 hours a year, and MCL 408.963(2) sets a 40-hour annual use cap for a small business of 10 or fewer people, unless the employer chooses a higher limit. |
| Front-loading is allowed | Instead of tracking accrual, an employer may give the full 72 hours, or 40 for a small business, at the start of the year for immediate use. An employer that front-loads need not allow carry-over or track accrual under MCL 408.963(5). |
| Broad list of uses, paid at the regular rate | MCL 408.964(1) allows use for the worker’s own illness or preventive care, a family member’s illness or care, domestic violence and sexual assault needs, school health meetings, and public-health closures. MCL 408.963(8) requires payment at the greater of the normal wage or the state minimum wage. |
| Where it does not apply | What it means |
|---|---|
| A 120-day waiting period for new hires | Under MCL 408.963(6), an employer may make an employee hired after February 21, 2025, wait 120 calendar days after starting work before using accrued time. The time still accrues during the wait. |
| A few excluded workers | The act excludes United States government employees, unpaid trainees and interns, minors employed under the youth employment standards act, and individuals who set their own hours under a policy that bars adverse action for not scheduling minimum hours. These are narrow carve-outs, not a general small-business exemption. |
| An existing PTO policy can satisfy the act | MCL 408.963(7) treats an employer as compliant if it provides paid time off in at least the same amount usable for the same purposes. A qualifying multiemployer plan under a collective bargaining agreement also satisfies the act, so no separate sick-time bank is required. |
| No cash-out at separation | MCL 408.965(3) provides that the act does not require an employer to pay out accrued unused earned sick time on termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation. Reinstatement rules apply, though, if the same employer rehires the worker within two months. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps around sick leave in Michigan. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Confirm sick time is accruing
Once you have worked enough hours, you should be earning one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. If your employer tracks nothing and offers no front-loaded bank, it may not be complying.
- Check which cap applies to you
A regular employer must let you use up to 72 hours a year. A small business of 10 or fewer may cap use at 40 hours. If you are told the limit is lower than these figures, it may be out of date.
- Watch the 120-day waiting period
If you were hired after February 21, 2025, your employer may make you wait 120 days before using accrued time. The time still builds during the wait, so it should be available once the period ends.
- File with the state if leave is denied
If an employer denies earned sick time or retaliates, you can file a claim with the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, which can order payment of withheld time, damages, and back pay.
If you were denied leave the law provides, the state labor department takes complaints and can explain the accrual rules and any penalty. Where the state has no mandate, check your city.
→ Michigan Department of Labor and Economic OpportunityThis is general legal information, not legal advice. Accrual, caps, and city ordinances turn on employer size and location, so confirm your situation against the statute.
What workers in Michigan get wrong about paid sick leave
Michigan requires paid sick leave for nearly every worker in the state, which sets it apart from most of its neighbors. Under the Earned Sick Time Act, MCL 408.961 to 408.973, an employer is any entity that employs one or more individuals, and MCL 408.963(1) requires it to provide earned sick time to each employee. Sick time accrues at one hour for every 30 hours worked. A regular employer must let a worker use up to 72 hours a year, and a small business of 10 or fewer may cap use at 40 hours, unless the employer picks a higher limit. An employer may front-load the full amount at the start of the year instead of tracking accrual. The current figures date to a turbulent 2025, when the Michigan Supreme Court in Mothering Justice v Attorney General revived the original voter-initiated act and the Legislature immediately amended it through 2025 PA 2. Michigan law preempts local ordinances under MCL 123.1388, so the state figures are both the floor and the ceiling for local rules. In Michigan, paid sick time is a legal entitlement, not a perk.
Common questions
Does Michigan require paid sick leave?
Yes. The Earned Sick Time Act requires nearly every employer to provide paid earned sick time. MCL 408.963(1) applies to any entity that employs one or more individuals, with only the United States government excluded.
How much paid sick time do you get in Michigan?
You accrue one hour for every 30 hours worked. A regular employer must let you use up to 72 hours a year, and a small business of 10 or fewer may cap use at 40 hours, unless the employer sets a higher limit.
What counts as a small business in Michigan?
A small business is an employer for which 10 or fewer individuals work for compensation during a given week. It loses that status if it had more than 10 on payroll for 20 or more workweeks in the current or prior calendar year.
Can a Michigan city require more paid sick leave?
No. MCL 123.1388 bars a local government from requiring an employer to provide paid or unpaid leave, so the state figures are both the floor and the ceiling. An employer may still choose to offer more voluntarily.
Does my Michigan employer have to pay out unused sick time?
No. MCL 408.965(3) does not require an employer to pay out accrued unused earned sick time at separation. If the same employer rehires you within two months, though, unused accrued time is generally reinstated.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.