Protected leave laws: Are your employees guaranteed time off?

Employee time off for certain activities map

As fall approaches, our long, lazy summer days give way to cooler temperatures and crazy autumn calendars. The seasonal changes in personal schedules can make it difficult to set employee schedules, too. From school plays and teacher conferences to election days and civic duties, just what is an employer’s responsibility when it comes to giving employees time off to address such events?

While the big leave laws, like the FMLA, are well known, most states have adopted laws that guarantee employees many other types of leave, too. For instance, all states have laws that allow employees to take time off for jury duty, and many allow time off for other activities, like voting, attending school functions, and organ donation.

Though most job-protected leave laws do not require the time off to be paid, they usually require employers to provide time away from work that does not result in any penalties, such as demerits or points accumulated under an attendance policy.

Check the map below to see if your state requires you to provide employees time off for certain activities.

Wondering what other protected time off your state requires? Click here to see an easy-to-read list of leave rights by state.
 

Key to remember: While scheduling conflicts can cause big headaches for employers, be sure you know your state’s laws before denying employee requests for certain types of time off.