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

Wyoming does not have a state law requiring private employers to provide paid sick leave. As of 2026, no Wyoming statute mandates that workers earn or accrue paid sick time, and there is no statewide accrual rate, hourly cap, or carryover requirement on the books. Whether you get paid time off when you are ill is determined almost entirely by your employer's own policy or your employment contract, not by a state minimum. This puts Wyoming in line with the majority of states that have declined to enact mandatory sick-leave laws, and it differs sharply from states like Colorado, New Mexico, or Arizona, which require accrual at a fixed rate (commonly one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked).

What Wyoming law actually requires

There is no Wyoming Paid Sick Leave Act. The state's wage and labor statutes, administered by the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services (DWS), Labor Standards Division, govern things like the timely payment of wages and the minimum wage, but they do not create any right to paid sick days. Because Wyoming is an at-will employment state, an employer can generally set, change, or eliminate a sick-leave benefit at its discretion, as long as it does not violate an existing contract, collective bargaining agreement, or anti-discrimination law.

One important nuance: while Wyoming does not require paid sick leave, if an employer chooses to offer it, that benefit can become an enforceable promise. Under Wyoming's wage payment laws, employers are generally expected to honor their own written policies. If your handbook promises accrued sick pay or says unused sick time is paid out at separation, the DWS Labor Standards Division can help you pursue wages the employer agreed to pay but withheld. The protection comes from the employer's policy, not from a state mandate.

Who this affects and the federal baseline

Because Wyoming sets no floor, your coverage depends on your workplace. Many salaried and full-time positions in Wyoming include some form of paid sick leave or combined paid time off (PTO), while part-time, seasonal, hourly, and gig roles frequently include none. Nothing in Wyoming law forces an employer to extend the benefit to part-timers or to let unused time roll over.

Federal law fills only narrow gaps:

• FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act): The federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets a $7.25 federal minimum wage and requires overtime at 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek, but it does not require any paid sick leave, vacation, or holiday pay for private-sector employees. Wyoming's own minimum wage statute lists a figure of $5.15 per hour, but the higher federal $7.25 rate controls for nearly all employers covered by the FLSA. Confirm the current applicable rate with the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services before relying on it.
• FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act): The federal FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected but unpaid leave per year for a serious health condition, to care for a family member, or for the birth or adoption of a child. It applies only to employees who have worked at least 12 months and 1,250 hours for an employer with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. FMLA protects your job during a serious illness, but it does not put money in your pocket.
• Federal contractors: Employees of certain federal contractors may earn paid sick leave under Executive Order 13706, which is a federal contracting rule rather than a Wyoming law.

If you are not a federal contractor and your employer does not voluntarily offer sick pay, you generally have no guaranteed paid sick days in Wyoming, though you may still qualify for unpaid FMLA protection if your employer is large enough and you meet the eligibility thresholds.

Local ordinances in Wyoming

Some states allow cities and counties to pass their own paid-sick-leave ordinances. In Wyoming, there is no city or county paid sick leave mandate in effect. Wyoming municipalities have not adopted local sick-leave laws, so workers in Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie, Gillette, and elsewhere are subject to the same default rule as the rest of the state: paid sick leave is a matter of employer policy, not local law. Do not assume a city ordinance gives you rights that the state does not.

How paid sick leave interacts with PTO and FMLA

Because Wyoming imposes no separate sick-leave requirement, many employers in the state use a single paid time off (PTO) bank that combines vacation and sick days into one pool. With consolidated PTO, you typically draw from the same balance whether you are sick or on vacation. Watch the policy details:

• Accrual and caps: Any accrual rate, annual cap, or maximum balance is set by your employer, not by the state. Read your handbook to learn how fast you earn time and whether there is a ceiling.
• Carryover and "use it or lose it": Wyoming does not prohibit use-it-or-lose-it policies, so unused time can expire at year's end if your policy says so.
• Payout at separation: Wyoming does not require employers to pay out unused PTO or sick time when you leave, unless the employer's own policy or your agreement promises it. If the policy promises a payout, the DWS Labor Standards Division can help you recover it as earned wages.
• Coordinating with FMLA: If you take unpaid FMLA leave, your employer can usually require you to use accrued paid sick time or PTO concurrently, so that you are paid from your own bank during part of the otherwise unpaid leave. This does not extend the 12-week FMLA period.

Pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical needs may also trigger protections under the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which can require reasonable accommodations such as schedule adjustments, even though they do not require paid sick days.

How to protect and enforce your rights

Since your sick-leave rights in Wyoming flow from your employer's policy, documentation is your best tool:

• Get the sick-leave or PTO policy in writing and keep a copy of your employee handbook.
• Track your hours worked, your accrued balance, and every request for time off.
• If your employer refuses to pay sick or PTO wages it promised in writing, you can file a wage claim with the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Labor Standards Division.
• For unpaid, job-protected leave during a serious illness, contact the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division about FMLA eligibility.

Because Wyoming has no paid sick leave statute, there is no single state webpage listing an accrual rate to memorize. Instead, verify your specific rights through your written policy and confirm wage and minimum-wage questions directly with the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. For job protection during illness, the federal FMLA, not Wyoming law, is your primary safeguard.

Official Wyoming Sources

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

• Wyoming Department of Workforce Services — official Wyoming agency.
• File a Claim for Wages - Wyoming DWS Labor Standards
• Wyoming Statutes Title 27 - Labor and Employment

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 Wyoming state law.