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

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Georgia program

Use earned sick days for your child (Family Care Act)

Georgia lets eligible workers use some sick leave they already earned to care for a family member.

What it is

Georgia lets eligible workers use some sick leave they already earned to care for a family member.

This law can let you use your sick balance for your child’s care. It does not create new days or require an employer to offer sick leave. Federal protected leave is a separate question.

Eligibility rules
  • The employer must have at least 25 employees and offer earned paid sick leave, and the worker must work at least 30 hours a week. Employers that offer an employee stock ownership plan are excluded. The law includes state and local government employers but does not create new leave or a new right to sue.
  • You need sick hours already in your balance; the law creates no new ones.
What you get
  • Up to five paid days a year from your existing earned sick-leave balance.
What the help includes
  • Approved family-care days use the existing balance and are paid through the employer’s policy. The five-day maximum is annual.
  • FMLA has separate employer-size, service and hours requirements. It can protect qualifying unpaid leave and may overlap with paid sick days.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask your employer’s benefits office about using earned sick leave for your child under the Family Care Act.
  2. Have ready: the sick-leave policy, available balance, care dates and any medical note the employer requires.

Your employer’s benefits or human resources office

After you ask
  • The employer confirms the approved dates and any required certification. A written refusal can identify which eligibility condition it believes is missing.
Good to know

A workplace without an earned sick-leave policy does not owe new paid days under this law.

Other details
  • Georgia has no general paid family leave or state disability-pay program for private workers.
  • Eligible public employees can have up to 240 hours of parental leave for birth, adoption or foster placement. A separate maternal-birth recovery benefit provides up to 120 hours from July 1, 2026. These are not general sick-child-care benefits. The employer confirms eligibility and any FMLA overlap.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could I use earned sick days for our child’s care, and how would those days fit with FMLA or employer leave? What are the benefits and drawbacks, and would you help me request the right arrangement?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand which existing paid days I can use while protecting time for care.

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 your employer's benefits office and put the request in writing.

Your social worker

The social worker helps with the medical certification your employer's benefits office asks for.

The care team

Writes a short note that the child needs the parent's care on those dates.

Who decides
Your employer
Ask HR
“I need up to five days of my earned sick leave for my child's treatment under Georgia's Family Care Act. What note do you need?”

How to apply

First step: Tell your employer's benefits office in writing that you need earned sick leave for your child's care. Ask what medical note they need.

  1. Tell your employer in writing that you need earned sick leave under Georgia's Family Care Act.
  2. Ask what medical note HR wants.

Where it starts: Written request to HR citing O.C.G.A. 34-1-10

What to gather

  • Sick-leave balance and policy
  • Care dates
  • Any certification your employer's benefits office asks for

How long: Immediate. The employer applies its policy.

What a yes looks like

your employer's benefits office approves the sick days for the care dates at your normal pay.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask for the reason in writing. Check the 25-person and 30-hour facts. Federal job-protected leave (FMLA) is separate.

Watch out

  • It only unlocks leave you already earned. An employer with no sick-leave policy owes nothing.
  • The federal leave law (federal job-protected leave (FMLA)) is a different test (50 people, 12 months) and is unpaid. Use both.
  • Georgia has no paid family leave or disability pay for private workers. State employees have 240 hours of paid parental leave for birth, adoption or foster placement only.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 8, 2026.

What it is worth

Up to 5 paid days a year from your existing sick-leave balance, for your child's care.

Legal protection: Use of up to 5 days a year of earned sick leave for a family member's care (employers of 25 or more. 30-hour weeks)

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Employer size min
25
Hours per week min
30
Days per year max
5
Earned sick leave required
yes

Decisions this site cannot make: Employer applies its leave policy and the statute

Expect friction on: Only unlocks earned leave

The trap: It is not new leave and not state pay. The federal leave law (federal job-protected leave (FMLA)) is a different test (50 people, 12 months) and is unpaid.

Where I read this

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