Sponsors (156)
Official title: To allow Americans to earn paid sick time so that they can address their own health needs and the health needs of their families.
Introduced February 12, 2026 by Rosa L. Delauro · Last progress February 12, 2026
The bill creates a meaningful federal baseline of paid sick leave with enforcement and protections while preserving stronger existing benefits — but it increases employer administrative and payroll costs, leaves gaps and uneven coverage across workplaces and places, and introduces legal and implementation complexity.
Many workers — including part-time, low‑wage, federal, and rail employees — get a federal paid‑sick‑leave baseline with clear accrual (1 hour per 30 worked), allowable uses (illness, caregiving, domestic‑violence needs, school meetings), rehired‑employee credit, and pay protection (paid at not less than the greater of the regular rate or the federal minimum wage).
Employees keep any stronger protections they already have — collective bargaining wins, employer plans, and stronger state/local paid‑leave and anti‑discrimination laws remain enforceable rather than being rolled back by the Act.
The law creates enforcement and anti‑retaliation tools: workers can file complaints with the Secretary of Labor, sue for unpaid wages/ damages and recover fees, and are protected from retaliation for using leave or participating in enforcement.
Employers — especially small businesses — face higher payroll and compliance costs (paying leave at the higher rate, tracking accruals, certifications, investigations, and potential damages/fees), which could lead to reduced hours, slower hiring, higher prices, or other cost‑cutting measures.
The law preserves existing disparities: workers without stronger contracts or living in states/localities with weak laws may only get the statutory minimum, so coverage and generosity will remain uneven across employers and places.
Complexity and legal uncertainty: overlapping rules (statute, CBAs, state/local laws), garbled or fragmented definitions, and multiple agencies issuing regulations raise the risk of inconsistent implementation, litigation, and compliance confusion for employers and workers.
Based on analysis of 13 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal paid sick leave entitlement: 1 hour per 30 worked (default 56-hour annual cap), accrual from hire, use after 60 days, job protections, enforcement and reporting rules.
Creates a nationwide paid sick leave entitlement requiring employers to provide at least 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked (defaulting to a 56-hour annual cap unless the employer sets a higher cap). Workers begin accruing at hire, may use accrued leave after 60 days, retain carryover subject to the annual cap, and get job-protections and anti-retaliation enforcement. Sets rulemaking deadlines for federal agencies and certain federal employers, requires employer notice and recordkeeping, preserves stronger state/local leave laws and collective bargaining terms, establishes enforcement tools (private right of action, Secretary investigatory powers), and directs data collection, GAO study, and a public awareness campaign.