Paid Sick Leave in Michigan: Who Qualifies and How Much You Earn

Unlike most states, Michigan now mandates paid sick leave for nearly all private employers. Under the Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA), which took effect February 21, 2025, covered employees earn at least 1 hour of paid earned sick time for every 30 hours worked. Employees of larger employers (those with 11 or more employees) can use up to 72 hours of paid earned sick time per year, while employees of small businesses (10 or fewer employees) can use up to 40 hours per year. This is a major change from the prior Paid Medical Leave Act and from federal law, which does not require private employers to provide any paid sick leave at all.

Does Michigan require paid sick leave?

Yes. Michigan is one of a minority of states that requires employers to provide paid sick time. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets a national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and requires overtime after 40 hours in a week, but it contains no paid sick leave guarantee. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides up to 12 weeks of leave for serious health conditions, but that leave is unpaid and only applies to larger employers and longer-tenured workers. Michigan's ESTA fills part of that gap by requiring paid time for short-term, everyday health and safety needs.

How much earned sick time you accrue

The accrual rule is straightforward: you earn 1 hour of paid earned sick time for every 30 hours you work. Accrual begins when employment starts (or on the law's effective date for existing workers). The key annual usage caps are:

• Larger employers (11 or more employees): employees may use up to 72 hours of paid earned sick time per year.
• Small businesses (10 or fewer employees): employees may use up to 40 hours of paid earned sick time per year.

Employers can either let earned time carry over from year to year (subject to the usage caps) or frontload the full annual amount at the start of the year so employees do not have to accrue it hour by hour. If an employer frontloads, it generally does not have to allow carryover. Earned sick time must be paid at your normal hourly wage, and you cannot be paid less than the minimum wage for that time.

Which employers and workers are covered

ESTA applies broadly to private employers in Michigan, including small businesses. The 2025 amendments gave small businesses (10 or fewer employees) extra time to comply, and new businesses receive a grace period after they first have employees before the requirements fully apply. Most employees are covered, though some categories — such as certain federal government workers and some unpaid trainees — fall outside the definition of a covered employee. Part-time and seasonal workers generally accrue time the same way as full-time workers, based on hours actually worked.

Because eligibility and small-business timing rules were adjusted during 2025, workers and employers should confirm their exact status with the state agency rather than assuming an exemption applies.

What you can use earned sick time for

Michigan law allows earned sick time to be used for a wide range of health and safety reasons, including:

• Your own mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, including diagnosis, care, treatment, or preventive care.
• Care for a family member with an illness, injury, or health condition, including their preventive care. Family member is defined broadly and includes children, spouses, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and certain others.
• Needs related to domestic violence or sexual assault affecting you or a family member, such as medical care, counseling, legal services, relocation, or victim-services help.
• Closure of your workplace, or your child's school or care provider, by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.
• Exposure-related situations where a health authority determines your or a family member's presence would jeopardize others' health.

Employers may require reasonable documentation only when an employee is absent for more than a set number of consecutive days, and they must give the employee a reasonable period to provide it. They cannot demand that the documentation explain the exact nature of the illness for an absence covered by the act.

Local ordinances and preemption

Michigan handles paid sick leave at the state level. Unlike states such as California or Washington, where individual cities have enacted their own paid-sick-leave ordinances with different accrual rates, Michigan applies one statewide standard through ESTA. Workers in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, or anywhere else in the state look to the same state law rather than a patchwork of city rules. This makes the statewide accrual rate and usage caps the controlling numbers for Michigan employees.

How earned sick time interacts with PTO and FMLA

If your employer already offers a paid time off (PTO) or vacation policy that provides at least as much paid leave as ESTA requires, and that time can be used for the same reasons and under the same conditions, the employer can generally satisfy ESTA through that existing policy. In other words, you do not necessarily get a separate sick-leave bank stacked on top of generous PTO — but the combined policy must meet or exceed the law's minimum accrual, caps, and permitted uses.

Earned sick time can also run alongside FMLA leave. Because FMLA is unpaid, many employees use paid earned sick time (or PTO) to receive pay during part of an FMLA absence. The two laws cover overlapping but not identical situations: FMLA addresses serious health conditions and bonding leave over a longer period, while ESTA covers shorter, everyday illnesses and safety needs and applies to far more workers.

Your rights and how to enforce them

Employers must not retaliate against you for requesting or using earned sick time, filing a complaint, or cooperating in an investigation. They are also required to provide written notice of your rights and to keep records of hours worked and earned sick time used.

The agency that enforces ESTA is the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), through its Wage and Hour Division. If you believe your employer is denying you earned sick time, miscalculating accrual, or retaliating against you, you can file a complaint with LEO's Wage and Hour Division. Because deadlines apply to complaints, act promptly and keep copies of pay stubs, schedules, and any written communications about your leave.

Where to verify the current rules

The Earned Sick Time Act was amended in early 2025, and details such as small-business compliance dates and posting requirements can be refined over time. Always confirm the current accrual rate, usage caps, covered-employer thresholds, and any minimum-wage figure that affects your pay rate with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), which publishes the official ESTA guidance, FAQs, and complaint forms. For unpaid job-protected leave, consult the U.S. Department of Labor for FMLA rules.

Official Michigan Sources

This page is based on Michigan employment law. Rules and figures change — verify the current details directly with the official Michigan sources below. This is general legal information, not legal advice.

• Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) - Wage and Hour Division — official Michigan agency.
• File an Employment Wage Complaint (Wage and Hour Division)
• Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act, Act 390 of 1978 (Michigan Compiled Laws)

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 Michigan state law.