Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Alaska program

Paid sick hours by Alaska law

Alaska's paid sick leave law lets eligible workers use earned paid hours to care for a family member.

What it is

Alaska's paid sick leave law lets eligible workers use earned paid hours to care for a family member.

A few paid hours can cover an appointment or part of a hospital stay. The amount depends on hours earned and the employer's size. Government jobs and other statutory exceptions are outside this particular law.

Eligibility rules
  • The Alaska paid-sick-leave law covers many private-sector workers, including part-time workers, but has statutory exemptions. Public employment, some occupations and some collective bargaining agreements have different rules. HR should check coverage before the family counts on these hours.
  • Federal, state and political-subdivision employment is exempt, along with the other categories in AS 23.10.069(b).
  • Covered workers earn at least one sick hour per 30 hours worked. The annual accrual and use limits are 40 hours below 15 full-time-equivalent employees and 56 hours at 15 or more, using the previous calendar year. Unused hours carry over unless the employer front-loads the full annual amount; a carried balance can exceed the annual use limit.
What you get
  • Up to 40 hours yearly for employers under 15 full-time equivalents; up to 56 at 15 or more.
  • Earned hours paid at your regular rate when used to care for your child.
What the help includes
  • Hours are usable as earned, with no separate statutory waiting period.
  • A more generous employer policy, contract or law can provide more leave.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask HR for your accrued balance, yearly cap and written sick-leave policy.
  2. Have pay slips showing earned hours ready and ask how to request the dates you need.

The employer · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • HR can confirm the balance and how paid hours will be recorded alongside other leave.
  • If HR says the law does not apply, its written explanation can identify the exemption.
Good to know

Employer size means last calendar year's full-time equivalents. It is not today's headcount.

Other details
  • The paid-sick-leave law took effect July 1, 2025. State and local public employees may have separate Alaska Family Leave Act rights; federal employees have their own employer’s rules.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“How many paid sick hours could I use to care for my child? What limits or other leave rules should I weigh, and could you help me get a clear answer from HR?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand which treatment days could be paid from the hours I have earned.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Ask in writing for the balance and the cap, and use the hours.

Your social worker

HR confirms the accrual and the employer's size count.

The care team

Nothing.

Who decides
The employer, under the statute.
Ask HR
“Under Alaska's paid sick leave law, how many hours have I accrued, what is my yearly cap, and did the company count 15 or more full-time equivalents last year? I need to use them to care for my child.”

How to apply

First step: Ask HR in writing this week for your accrued balance and your yearly cap.

  1. Ask HR in writing how many hours you have accrued and what the yearly cap is.
  2. Ask whether the employer counted 15 or more full-time equivalents last calendar year.
  3. Use the hours for hospital days; they are paid at your normal rate.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask in writing and keep the answer.

What to gather

  • Your pay slips showing accrued sick hours
  • The employer's written policy

How long: Usable as soon as the hours are earned.

What a yes looks like

Hospital days paid at your normal rate, out of the accrued balance.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the employer says the law does not apply, ask which exemption it is relying on, in writing.

Watch out

  • Employer size is counted in full-time equivalents for last calendar year, not heads today.
  • Government employment is outside this law. A state, borough or city employee looks to the Alaska Family Leave Act instead.
  • The hours are usable as they are earned; there is no waiting period in the statute.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Covered workers earn one paid sick hour per 30 worked, with annual accrual/use limits of 40 hours below 15 prior-year full-time equivalents and 56 at 15 or more. Carryover/front-loading and statutory exemptions apply.

  • $40 — Yearly accrual and use cap, employer with fewer than 15 employees
  • $56 — Yearly accrual and use cap, employer with 15 or more employees

Legal protection: Paid at the employee's regular rate · Usable as it is accrued, with no separate waiting period in the statute · Usable to care for a family member · A more generous law, contract or employer policy is not displaced

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Employer
private Alaska employers; employment by the United States, the state or a political subdivision is exempt, along with the other categories the statute names
Size test
full-time equivalents for the previous calendar year, with the tipping point at 15
Accrual
One hour per 30 hours worked. Unused hours carry over unless the employer front-loads the full annual allotment; the 40/56-hour annual accrual/use limit is not necessarily the total carried balance.

The trap: Employer size is counted in full-time equivalents for last calendar year, not by heads on the payroll today, and the tipping point is 15 employees.

Where I read this

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