By: HUB's Absence Management Team

It has been another landmark year for leave law changes nationwide. HUB’s Workforce Absence Management (WAM) team has compiled key legislative highlights to assist you in staying informed and compliant. While not exhaustive, the summary below outlines notable developments from 2025 and into 2026. The pace of change shows no signs of slowing in the coming year.

January 1, 2025 – New York Paid Prenatal Leave

July 1, 2025 – Alaska Paid Sick Leave

  • Applies to most employers
  • Accrues at 1 hour per 30 hours worked
  • Annual caps: 56 hours (15+ employees) | 40 hours (<15 employees)

July 1, 2025 – Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance

July 1, 2025 – Vermont Parental & Family Leave Act

  • Employers with 10 or more employees working in Vermont
  • Provides up to 12 weeks unpaid, job-protected leave (2 days for bereavement)
  • Leave Reasons depend on employer size
  • FAQ: Unpaid Family & Prenatal Leave

September 24, 2025 – Maine Earned Paid Leave

  • Employers with 11+ employees for more than 120 days/year
  • Accrual: 1 hour per 40 hours worked
  • Caps: 40 hours usage / 80 hours accrual per year

October 1, 2025 – Nebraska Paid Sick Leave Law

  • Most employers with 11 or more employees in Nebraska must provide paid sick
  • Employees become eligible after working 80 consecutive hours

October 1, 2025 – Michigan Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA)

  • Accrual: 1 hour per 30 hours worked
  • Usage limits based on employer size:
    • ≤10 employees: up to 40 hours paid + 32 hours unpaid
    • 11+ employees: up to 72 hours paid leave

January 1, 2026 – Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) Paid Sick Days

  • 15 or more Employees: (accrual and usage cap up to 72 hours)
  • Fewer than 15 employees (accrual and usage cap up to 48 hours)

Comparison of Pennsylvania localities as of January 1, 2026

Location Accrual Rate Accrual and Usage Cap
Pittsburgh 1 hour for every 30 hours worked
  • 15 or more employees: 72 hours
  • Fewer than 15 employees: 48 hours
Philadelphia 1 hour for every 40 hours worked
  • 10 or more employees: 40 hours
  • Fewer than 10 employees: 40 hours unpaid sick leave
Allegheny Count (employers with 26+ nationwide) 1 hour for every 35 hours worked
  • 1 hour for every 35 hours worked
  • 40 hours Paid Sick

 

January 1, 2026 – Connecticut Paid Sick Leave

  • Employers with 11+ employees
  • Accrual: 1 hour per 30 hours worked
  • Cap: Up to 40 hours per year

January 1, 2026 – California AB 406 (Crime Victim & Paid Sick/Safe Time)

  • Applies to most employers under expanded “victim witness” provisions
  • Provides paid sick/safe time when an employee or family member is a crime victim attending related proceedings
  • Adds job-protected unpaid leave for victim/family court proceedings

January 1, 2026 – Colorado FAMLI (Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Extension)

  • The update to the law provides an additional 12 weeks of paid leave if a newborn requires NICU inpatient care
  • This extension is in addition to the standard FAMLI leave entitlement

January 1, 2026 – Minnesota Paid Leave Program

  • Benefits and payroll deduction begin January 1, 2026
  • Employees may access up to a maximum of 20 weeks per year of paid family and medical leave

January 1, 2026 – Delaware Family & Medical Leave Insurance Program

  • Employers with 10–24 employees must provide parental leave only
  • Employers with 25+ employees will be required to provide full coverage (parental, family and medical leave)

January 1, 2026 – Illinois Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act

  • Employers with 51 or more employees must expand leave eligibility to part-time employees, allowing them paid leave for organ donation, and specifying how part-time pay is calculated

January 1, 2026 – New Hampshire Childbirth leave

  • Employers with 20 or more employees must provide job protected leave
  • 25 hours of unpaid leave to attend appointments associated with childbirth/adoption

January 1, 2026 – Rhode Island TCI (Temporary Caregiver Insurance) Increase

  • Maximum paid leave duration increases from 7 weeks to 8 weeks under TCI
  • Expands eligible family member definition to now include siblings requiring care
  • Expands leave reasons to include organ and bone-marrow donors under the caregiving leave benefit

January 1, 2026 – Washington State PFML

  • Employees become eligible for job‐protected leave after 180 calendar days of employment, regardless of hours worked (instead of the previous 12 months)
  • The employer size threshold for job‐protection coverage expands
  • Employers may count unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) toward the WA PFML job‐protection period if notices are sent by the employer

February 22, 2026 – New York City (NYC) Amended Earned Safe & Sick Time Act (ESSTA)

  • Applies to covered employers in NYC under the Earned Safe & Sick Time Act (ESSTA)
  • Employers must provide an additional 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick time immediately upon hire and at the start of each calendar year (in addition to existing paid safe/sick time)
  • Expanded permissible reasons for leave

May 1, 2026 – Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave

  • Up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave available to eligible employees
  • Payroll contributions begin January 1, 2025, with benefits commencing on May 1, 2026
  • Employers should decide now if they will utilize the private or state plan

June 1, 2026 - Illinois Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act

  • New law that provides 10 days of unpaid parental leave (employers with 16-50 employees)
  • 20 days unpaid parental leave (employers of 51 or more employees)

If you have any questions, please contact your HUB Advisor. We will continue to monitor and provide updates as more information becomes available. View more Workforce Absence Management updates in our WAM Bulletins page.

NOTICE OF DISCLAIMER
Neither Hub International Limited nor any of its affiliated companies is a law or accounting firm, and therefore, they cannot provide legal or tax advice. The information herein is provided for general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or tax advice as to an organization’s specific circumstances. You should consult an attorney, accountant or other legal or tax professional regarding the application of the general information provided here to your organization’s specific situation in light of your organization’s particular needs.