When it comes to state-mandated paid leave programs, Pennsylvania is in limbo. There’s no paid leave program in place as of summer 2026, but the state has proposed legislation to implement one—and the bill is waiting on approval from certain government committees.
It’s a particularly important time to pay attention if you’re a business owner in The Keystone State, or if you have remote employees in Pennsylvania. Keep reading for an explanation of the state of paid leave legislation, the value of paid leave in the workplace, and how to comply with federal leave laws.
Does Pennsylvania have paid family and medical leave?
Pennsylvania has no statewide paid family and medical leave (PFML) yet. However, legislation for a PFML program passed the state House in March 2026. Here’s what House Bill 200, the Family Care Act, proposed:
Leave offering: Employees would get 12 weeks of paid leave to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, recover from incidents of violence or assault, or manage a serious personal health condition.
Eligibility requirements: Employees need to have worked at least 18 weeks for their employer or earned enough income to qualify for unemployment benefits.
Benefits: Employees would receive weekly benefit payments based on the statewide average weekly wage.
Funding: The program would be funded by employer contributions, with potential grants for businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
The main obstacle to passing the legislation isn’t demand. In fact, 78% of Pennsylvanians—including 56% of business owners—are in favor of a statewide paid leave program, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (PA DOL).
The issue is money. The Pennsylvania House and Senate disagree about how to fund the program, which is why there’s a different version of the bill (SB 906) making its way through the Senate committees.
SB 906 proposes that a PFML program be funded by employee payroll deductions of up to 1% of their wages, instead of employer contributions. It passed the Senate Labor & Industry Committee in June 2026 and next moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee, followed by a full Senate floor vote.
So, how will Pennsylvania PFML legislation eventually come to fruition? The state Senate needs to move its version of the bill through the rest of its committees, then the House and Senate have to agree on funding before sending the bill to the governor for final approval.
Does Pennsylvania have paid sick leave?
Pennsylvania doesn’t have a statewide law requiring employers to provide paid sick time, but both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh require certain employers to give their workers paid sick days.
Philadelphia: Under the Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces Law, employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked, up to an annual cap that depends on employer size: 80 hours for employers with 50 or more employees, 56 hours for employers with 10–49 employees, and 40 hours of unpaid sick time for employers with fewer than 10 employees.
Pittsburgh: Under the Paid Sick Days Act, employers with employees based in Pittsburgh have to give them paid sick leave (one hour accrued for every 30 hours worked). Employers with fewer than 15 employees have to provide at least 48 hours of sick time; employers with 15 or more employees have to provide at least 72 hours of sick time.
Related: Are there any sick time laws in your area you should be aware of?
How do Pennsylvania employees take leave when they need it?
When Pennsylvania employees need time off work for personal health reasons or family matters, they rely on employer-provided leave or federal unpaid leave. Sometimes both—and unfortunately, sometimes neither—apply.
More than half (69%) of employers in Pennsylvania don’t give employees PFML, according to the PA DOL’s report. And leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is tough to access.
First off, the law only applies to covered employers (those with 50 or more employees working within a 75-mile radius), which means employees at smaller businesses don’t even have the option to take unpaid leave. Secondly, FMLA leave has stricter eligibility requirements. People have to work for their employer for 12 months and amass 1,250 hours of work service to qualify for leave.
If Pennsylvanians don’t qualify for unpaid leave or get enough paid time off (PTO) through their employer, they’re in a vulnerable place: choose between keeping their job or keeping their family or health intact.
How does FMLA leave work?
If you’re a covered employer, aka you have 50+ employees, your employees can request federal unpaid leave for certain life events. Here are the details:
Qualifying situations | Eligibility requirements | Key protections |
Bonding with a newborn, adopted, and fostered child Caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition Managing a serious personal health condition Managing affairs when a spouse, child, or parent is on or called to active duty | Work for their employer for at least 12 months, consecutively or non-consecutively Work at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave begins Work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles | Job restoration after leave Continued health insurance during leave |
Employer responsibilities under FMLA
Here’s what you need to do on an ongoing basis:
1. Notify employees about their leave rights
You have to:
Hang an FMLA poster in your workplace to explain how leave works and what people can do to qualify.
Give written notice to eligible employees explaining how and when to request a leave.
Give written notice to new hires with an overview of FMLA leave and details on how to qualify.
2. Review employee leave requests
After your employee requests leave, you have five business days to fill out the top portion of the DOL’s Rights and Responsibilities Notice, then give it back to your employee. The form covers:
The reason your employee needs leave
Whether or not your employee is officially eligible for leave
Whether or not your employee needs to supply additional documentation to approve the leave
Your employee’s right to continued health insurance and job protection
The 12-month period in which your employee’s leave can take place
Your employee’s expected leave start and return dates
Your employee’s right to substitute PTO for FMLA leave, and whether or not you’ll require that
3. Approve or deny the leave request
It’s unlawful to stop your employees from taking leave they’re entitled to, and to discriminate against anyone for taking leave. However, you can deny a leave request if your employee isn’t eligible.
To approve or deny a leave, you’ll complete a Designation Notice and give it back to your employee within five business days of them submitting any leave certification paperwork.
4. Keep your records
Hold onto all your leave-related documents, including:
Work contracts
Employee timesheets
Payroll receipts
Employee requests for leave
Leave certification paperwork
Documentation of leave start and end dates
Copies of FMLA notices
5. Uphold your employee’s legal protections
You’re legally required to continue paying your employee’s health insurance premiums during leave and to reinstate your employee to their former job after leave.
How to support employees with paid leave options
Paid leave gives workers practical and financial support to address their health and family needs. Businesses, in turn, benefit from healthier, more engaged workers, improved retention rates, and easier recruitment. It’s a win-win across the board.
No matter what your company’s leave policy currently looks like, there are steps you can take to support the people supporting your daily operations. Consider these options:
Update your existing leave policy
If you already offer paid leave, when was the last time you reviewed your policies to see what you could improve on? There are a few angles to approach an evaluation:
Inclusivity: That might mean relaxing your eligibility requirements, expanding the definition of “family member: for caregiving leaves, or giving secondary caregivers/non-birthing parents equal bonding time for parental leaves.
Competitiveness: Research what your peers and competitors do for paid leave to see how you could stand out. Or check out other state programs for comparison, like Colorado and Massachusetts.
Cost of living: How well does your existing policy account for the current cost of living in your area? Can you increase your weekly benefit payments, help cover more of the paid leave insurance premium for your employees, or give employees additional leave time?
Introduce a leave policy for the first time
If you don’t offer paid leave right now, consider purchasing paid leave insurance from a private insurer. You might want to explore short-term disability insurance or a paid family leave product. Meet with your insurance broker or accountant to do a cost-benefit analysis and see what you can afford to dedicate to paid leave.
Pro tip: Bookmark Gusto’s guide to creating a parental leave policy if you need a starting point to reference.
Explore creative ways to fill in the gaps
Maybe you can’t afford to cover paid leave yet, or maybe you want to see where the state Senate lands on the latest PFML legislation before making a change. In the meantime, see where you can get creative to give your hard-working employees more options for transitional times in life. You could:
Increase your sick days or PTO
Instate a minimum PTO policy, so workers feel encouraged to actually use their time
Allow flexible work schedules or hybrid workplace policies
Open up certain roles to part-time or reduced hours
Pennsylvania employer resources
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