Georgia does not require private employers to provide paid sick leave. There is no Georgia statute setting an accrual rate, an hours-worked threshold, or an annual cap for earning sick time. Whether you get paid sick days at all, how fast you accrue them, and how many you can carry over is determined entirely by your employer's own policy or your union or employment contract. Georgia's one related law is its "kin care" statute (O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10): if an employer already chooses to offer sick leave and has 25 or more employees, it must let eligible workers use up to five days of that earned leave each year to care for an immediate family member — but the law never forces the employer to create the leave in the first place.
Does Georgia Mandate Paid Sick Leave?
No. Unlike states such as California, New York, Colorado, or New Jersey, Georgia has not enacted a paid-sick-leave mandate. Private-sector employers in Georgia are free to offer paid sick leave, unpaid sick leave, a combined paid-time-off (PTO) bank, or no sick benefit at all. Because there is no state mandate, there is no state-set accrual formula (for example, "one hour for every 30 hours worked") and no statutory maximum. Those terms exist only if your employer writes them into a handbook, offer letter, or collective bargaining agreement.
At the federal level there is also no general paid-sick-leave requirement. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets a federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and requires overtime after 40 hours in a workweek for non-exempt employees, but it does not require any paid sick days, paid vacation, or paid holidays. So for most Georgia workers, paid sick leave is a benefit, not a legal entitlement.
Georgia's Kin Care Law: The One Real Rule
The closest thing Georgia has to a sick-leave statute is O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10, whose official catchline is "use of sick leave for care of immediate family members." It is commonly called Georgia's kin care law; the General Assembly gave it no short title, so you will not find an official "Georgia Family Care Act." It was enacted by Senate Bill 201 (2017), as passed. The statute does not require employers to provide sick leave. Instead, it governs how existing employer-provided sick leave can be used. Key points, straight from the enrolled act:
Who is covered: Any employer with 25 or more employees that already provides sick leave. Subsection (a)(3) defines "employer" to include the State of Georgia and its political subdivisions and instrumentalities — so state agencies, counties, cities, school boards, and authorities of that size are bound by this rule too, not just private companies.
Which employees qualify: Employees who work at least 30 hours per week and who have available, already-earned employer sick leave. Leave cannot be used under this statute until it has been earned, and you must follow your employer's sick leave policy.
How much: Up to five days of earned sick leave per calendar year may be used to care for an immediate family member, rather than only for your own illness. Nothing requires an employer to allow more than five.
Immediate family member: The statute defines this as the employee's child, spouse, grandchild, grandparent, or parent, or any dependents shown on the employee's most recent tax return.
What counts as "sick leave": Paid time away for your own incapacity, illness, or injury. Subsection (a)(5) expressly excludes paid short-term and long-term disability benefits.
The five-day kin care allowance is not extra leave on top of your bank — it comes out of the sick leave you have already accrued under your employer's plan. It constrains how an employer that voluntarily offers sick pay must allow that pay to be used.
The one real exception is narrow, and it is not ERISA. Subsection (e) says the Code section "shall not apply to any employer that offers to their employees an employee stock ownership plan" — an ESOP, as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 4975(e)(7). That is the only plan-based carve-out. Having an ERISA-governed group health plan, a 401(k), or any other ordinary benefit plan does not exempt your employer. Almost every employer with 25 or more employees sponsors some ERISA plan, so if you have read elsewhere that ERISA plans take you outside this law, that is wrong: unless your employer offers an ESOP, the kin care rule applies to it.
The law is permanent. As originally passed, subsection (f) would have repealed the statute on July 1, 2020, but Senate Bill 61 (2023), signed into law, "amended [Code Section 34-1-10] by repealing subsection (f)." The sunset is gone and the kin care right is in force today.
Accrual Rate and Caps
Because Georgia sets no statutory accrual rate, the answer to "how much do I earn?" is: whatever your employer's policy says. Common private-employer arrangements you may see in Georgia include a fixed number of sick days granted up front each year, an hourly accrual model (such as a set number of hours earned per pay period), or a single PTO bank covering both vacation and illness. None of these are required by Georgia law, and the employer may set its own caps, carryover limits, waiting periods, and rules on whether unused time is paid out at separation. Read your handbook carefully, because the document controls.
Local Ordinances
Do not expect a city or county in Georgia to fill the gap. Under O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3.1, whose current text was set by Senate Bill 331 (2022), the "Protecting Georgia Businesses and Workers Act", "any and all wage or employment benefit mandates adopted by any local government entity are hereby preempted," and no local government entity may adopt, maintain, or enforce such a mandate directly or indirectly. The statute expressly defines "employment benefits" to include "paid days off for holidays, sick leave, vacation, and personal necessity," and it also bars local governments from regulating employer hours and scheduling or from using their purchasing power to control a vendor's wages and benefits. So there is no Atlanta, Savannah, or Augusta paid-sick-leave ordinance for private workers comparable to those in some other states' cities. One thing local governments may still do, under subsection (b)(3), is offer benefits to their own employees — which is why some Georgia city and county workers have leave policies that private employees in the same city do not.
How Sick Leave Interacts With PTO and the FMLA
Many Georgia employers fold sick time into a single PTO bank. When they do, the kin care rule still applies if the employer has 25 or more employees and the PTO functions as paid sick leave — the employee can use up to five days of that accrued time for a covered family member. If your employer offers a combined PTO bank with no separate "sick" designation, check how the policy labels and permits use of the time.
Paid sick leave is different from job-protected family and medical leave. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees to up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a serious health condition, to care for a close family member with a serious health condition, or for the birth or placement of a child. FMLA applies to private employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles, and to employees who have worked at least 12 months and 1,250 hours. FMLA does not require pay, but an employer may require — or an employee may choose — to substitute accrued paid sick leave or PTO during FMLA leave. Georgia has no separate state family-leave statute that expands on the FMLA for private workers. Unlike the kin care statute, the FMLA is enforceable: it carries both a federal complaint process and a private lawsuit.
How to Enforce Your Rights — and the Limit You Need to Know
Be clear-eyed about the kin care statute: it creates no lawsuit. Subsection (d) of O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10 states flatly that "nothing in this Code section shall be construed to create a new cause of action against an employer." The statute carries no penalty, no damages remedy, and no agency enforcement — no Georgia agency is charged with policing it. If an employer refuses the five days, you cannot sue under this statute, and complaining to a state agency will not produce an order. Knowing that up front saves you from spending money chasing a claim Georgia law forecloses.
What actually works instead:
Your employer's own policy, handbook, or offer letter. These promises can be enforceable as contract or policy commitments, and they are usually the real battleground over earned sick time. Document your accrued balance, your written request, and the employer's response.
Internal HR or grievance channels, and a union grievance if you are covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
Public employees: because the statute's definition of "employer" reaches the State and its political subdivisions, a state, county, city, or school-system employer with 25+ employees that offers sick leave is subject to the same kin care rule, and your agency's personnel and grievance policies are the route to raise it.
One practical note on where to call. The Georgia Department of Labor is principally an unemployment-insurance and workforce agency; its own employment-laws page routes minimum-wage, overtime, and FMLA questions to the U.S. Department of Labor rather than claiming state enforcement. Georgia has no state wage-and-hour enforcement office for a private-sector unpaid-wage or denied-leave complaint, so for those, USDOL's Wage and Hour Division is the federal channel. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 that applies to most Georgia workers can change, so confirm it with the U.S. Department of Labor before relying on it.
Bottom Line for Georgia Workers
Georgia gives you no guaranteed paid sick days. Your real protections are your employer's own policy, the narrow kin care right to use up to five earned sick days a year for an immediate family member if your employer has 25 or more employees and already offers sick leave (unless it offers an ESOP), and the unpaid, job-protected leave the federal FMLA provides at larger employers. The kin care statute has no lawsuit and no agency behind it, so the handbook, your written records, and the FMLA are where your leverage lives.
This article is general information about Georgia law, not legal advice. Rules change and individual facts matter; consult a licensed Georgia attorney about your situation.
Official Georgia Sources
This page is based on Georgia employment law. Rules and figures change — verify the current details directly with the official Georgia sources below. This is general legal information, not legal advice.
Federal law and local ordinances may also apply. Federal laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act set a national floor, and your city or county may add protections (such as a higher local minimum wage or paid sick leave). Check both alongside Georgia state law.
Frequently asked questions
Does Georgia law require my employer to give me paid sick days?
No. Georgia has no paid-sick-leave mandate for private employers. Paid sick leave exists only if your employer, union contract, or offer letter creates it. There is no state-set accrual rate or cap.
What is Georgia's kin care law?
O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10 ("use of sick leave for care of immediate family members"). If an employer with 25 or more employees already offers sick leave, an employee working at least 30 hours per week may use up to five days of that earned leave each calendar year to care for an immediate family member. It is permanent: SB 61 (2023) repealed the sunset that would have ended it in 2020.
Who counts as an immediate family member under the kin care law?
The statute lists the employee's child, spouse, grandchild, grandparent, or parent, or any dependents shown on the employee's most recent tax return.
Does the kin care law not apply if my employer has an ERISA benefit plan?
That is a common and costly misreading. Subsection (e) exempts only an employer that offers its employees an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 4975(e)(7). An ordinary ERISA-governed group health plan or 401(k) does not exempt your employer — nearly every 25+ employee employer has one. Unless your employer offers an ESOP, the kin care rule applies.
Are Georgia state and local government employees covered?
Yes. O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10(a)(3) defines "employer" to include the State of Georgia and its political subdivisions and instrumentalities. A state agency, county, city, school board, or authority with 25+ employees that provides sick leave is bound by the same five-day kin care rule.
Can I sue my employer for denying kin care leave?
Not under this statute. O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10(d) says nothing in the section creates a new cause of action against an employer, and no Georgia agency enforces it. Your realistic routes are the employer's handbook or contract promises, an internal or union grievance, and — if you qualify — the FMLA, which the U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division does enforce.
Do any Georgia cities require private employers to provide paid sick leave?
No. O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3.1, as revised by SB 331 (2022), preempts any and all local wage or employment benefit mandates, and "employment benefits" expressly includes paid sick leave. A local government may still give benefits to its own employees, but it cannot impose them on private employers.
Can I use paid sick leave during FMLA leave in Georgia?
Yes. The federal FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave at employers with 50 or more employees. Your employer may require, or you may elect, to substitute accrued paid sick leave or PTO so part of that time is paid.
This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and may not reflect the most current law or the law in your jurisdiction. Laws vary by state and change over time. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney.
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