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

Texas does not require any private employer to provide paid sick leave. There is no statewide paid-sick-leave law, no mandated accrual rate, and no required cap. Whether you earn paid sick time, how fast it accrues, and how much you can bank are decided entirely by your employer's own policy. This puts Texas in line with the federal baseline: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) also does not require employers to pay for time not worked, including sick days. So unless your individual employer chooses to offer paid sick leave, you are not legally entitled to it in Texas.

This is one of the clearest examples of how leave law differs by state. A handful of states and many cities elsewhere in the country mandate paid sick leave with specific accrual formulas (often one hour of sick time per 30 hours worked). Texas has chosen the opposite approach and has actively blocked local governments from creating such mandates.

No State Mandate, No Federal Mandate

At the state level, no Texas statute requires private employers to provide paid sick days, paid vacation, or any form of paid time off (PTO). At the federal level, the FLSA governs minimum wage and overtime but is silent on paid sick leave. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and Texas adopts that same rate; Texas does not set a higher state minimum wage. Federal overtime rules (time-and-a-half after 40 hours in a workweek) also apply in Texas, but none of these laws create a right to paid time off.

The one narrow federal exception involves certain federal contractors. Under a federal executive order, some employees of covered federal contractors accrue paid sick leave on covered contracts. That is a contractor-specific rule, not a general Texas requirement, and it does not apply to most private-sector workers in the state.

Why Texas Cities Cannot Require It

Several large Texas cities tried to create local paid-sick-leave mandates. Austin passed an ordinance in 2018, and San Antonio and Dallas adopted similar measures. Each would have required employers to let workers accrue paid sick time, typically at a rate tied to hours worked.

Texas appellate courts blocked these ordinances. The courts reasoned that requiring paid sick leave effectively raises the cost of employment in a way that conflicts with the Texas Minimum Wage Act, which preempts local governments from setting wage requirements that differ from the state standard. As a result, none of these local paid-sick-leave ordinances are in effect or enforceable. If you live in Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, or anywhere else in Texas, there is currently no enforceable local law requiring your employer to give you paid sick leave.

Because the legal landscape can shift if the Legislature acts or new litigation arises, it is worth confirming the current status with an official source before relying on any local rule.

How Paid Sick Leave Actually Works in Texas: Employer Policy

In practice, most Texas employees who have paid sick leave get it through company policy, an employee handbook, an employment contract, or a collective bargaining agreement. When an employer voluntarily offers paid sick leave or PTO, that promise can become legally enforceable, even though the underlying benefit was optional to begin with.

This matters most when you leave a job. Texas does not require employers to pay out unused sick leave or PTO at termination unless the employer's own written policy or agreement promises to do so. If the policy says accrued PTO is paid out on separation, the employer generally must honor it. If the policy is silent or expressly says unused time is forfeited, the employer typically owes nothing. The key takeaways:

• Accrual rate and caps are set by the employer, not by Texas law. Read your handbook to learn how time accrues and whether it carries over year to year.
• Permitted uses (your own illness, a family member's illness, medical appointments) are defined by the policy.
• Payout at termination depends entirely on the written policy or agreement.
• Eligibility (full-time vs. part-time, waiting periods) is also a policy choice.

How Paid Sick Leave Interacts With PTO

Many Texas employers combine sick time and vacation into a single PTO bank rather than tracking separate sick days. Because Texas imposes no minimum, the employer is free to design that bank however it wants, including setting accrual speed, annual caps, carryover limits, and blackout periods. A PTO policy that lumps everything together is fully legal in Texas. The trade-off is that a single bank gives you flexibility but no protected, sickness-only reserve.

How Paid Sick Leave Interacts With FMLA

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is separate from paid sick leave and applies in Texas. FMLA provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a serious health condition, the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for a family member with a serious health condition. Crucially, FMLA leave is unpaid; it protects your job and health insurance but does not put money in your pocket.

To be eligible for FMLA, you generally must work for an employer with 50 or more employees within 75 miles, have worked there at least 12 months, and have logged at least 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months. Employers may require, or employees may choose, to use accrued paid leave (such as PTO or sick time) concurrently with FMLA leave so that some of the otherwise-unpaid time is covered. So in Texas, your employer-provided paid sick leave or PTO is often how you get paid during an FMLA absence, even though FMLA itself guarantees only unpaid, protected time off.

How to Enforce Your Rights

Because Texas has no paid-sick-leave mandate, enforcement focuses on holding employers to the promises they made. If your employer offered paid sick leave or PTO and then failed to pay accrued, promised time you were owed, you may be able to file a wage claim under the Texas Payday Law with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The Payday Law covers unpaid wages, and promised, accrued PTO or sick pay can qualify as wages when a written policy or agreement requires payment.

Practical steps:

• Keep a copy of your employee handbook, offer letter, and any written PTO or sick-leave policy.
• Track your accrued and used time, and save pay stubs.
• If you are owed promised wages, the Texas Payday Law generally requires filing a wage claim with the TWC within 180 days of the date the wages were due. Confirm the current deadline and procedure with the TWC before filing, because timing is strict.
• For FMLA disputes, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division handles complaints.

Where to Verify

For authoritative, current information, consult the Texas Workforce Commission, which administers the Texas Payday Law and provides guidance on wages, leave, and employer obligations. For federal questions about FMLA and the FLSA, consult the U.S. Department of Labor. Because legislative changes and court rulings can alter the status of local ordinances and filing deadlines, verify any specific figure or rule with the official agency before acting on it.

Official Texas Sources

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

• Texas Workforce Commission — official Texas agency.
• Texas Payday Law - Wage Claim (TWC Wage and Hour Department)
• Texas Labor Code, Chapter 61 - Payment of Wages (Texas Payday Law)

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 Texas state law.