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

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Idaho program

Leave if a parent works for the state of Idaho

Idaho executive-branch employees can use eligible sick leave for a child's serious illness and may receive donated leave.

What it is

Idaho executive-branch employees can use eligible sick leave for a child's serious illness and may receive donated leave.

A state employee may have paid leave available while caring for a child. This depends on the executive-branch personnel policy, hours worked and available leave. It is a separate question from federal job-protected leave.

Eligibility rules
  • The employee must be covered by Idaho's executive-branch statewide personnel policy.
  • Full-time work earns about 12 sick days a year.
  • The sick-leave policy has employee-category exclusions, including regular work below 20 hours weekly and certain temporary service. HR confirms whether your appointment qualifies.
  • Donated leave requires eligibility to accrue the relevant leave. The initial two-week employment pay period is excluded.
What you get
  • Accrued sick leave for a child's serious illness.
  • Up to 160 hours of donated vacation and sick leave combined per fiscal year.
What the help covers
  • The 160-hour annual maximum combines donated vacation and sick leave rather than allowing 160 hours of each.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask your agency's HR office for your sick-leave balance and donated-leave process in writing.
  2. Ask the clinic for treatment documentation if HR requires it.

The employing agency's human resources office · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • Your employing agency confirms the balance and whether a donated-leave request can be approved.
Good to know

These are executive-branch policies. HR checks the employee category; teachers, local-government workers and private workers need their own employer’s rules.

Donated leave and FMLA
  • Donated leave needs employer approval, an eligible reason and exhaustion of applicable personal leave balances. Medical certification may be required; donated hours are not a guaranteed bank of pay.
  • HR confirms whether FMLA runs during the same absence, how much protected time remains and how your health-plan premiums are paid.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Does my employer's policy let me use sick or donated leave for my child, and how would that work with FMLA? Could you help me compare the pay, job protection and paperwork?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand the leave I have before my own balance runs out.

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 agency's HR office for your sick-leave balance and donated-leave process in writing. Ask the clinic for treatment documentation if HR requires it.

Your social worker

HR confirms the balance and the donated leave process.

The care team

A letter confirming the treatment, if HR asks.

Who decides
The employing agency.
Ask HR
“Does my employer's policy let me use sick or donated leave for my child, and how would that work with FMLA? Could you help me compare the pay, job protection and paperwork?”

How to apply

First step: Ask your agency's HR office for your sick-leave balance and donated-leave process in writing. Ask the clinic for treatment documentation if HR requires it.

  1. Ask your agency's HR office for your sick-leave balance and donated-leave process in writing.
  2. Ask the clinic for treatment documentation if HR requires it.

Where it starts: Ask your agency's HR office for your sick-leave balance and donated-leave process in writing. Ask the clinic for treatment documentation if HR requires it.

What to gather

The diagnosis letter, the child’s insurance card, and the last two pay stubs cover most applications. The official page lists the rest.

How long: Your employing agency confirms the balance and whether a donated-leave request can be approved.

What a yes looks like

Approved paid leave, with a return date you agreed.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If sick leave is refused for a child's illness, ask which section of the policy was applied.

Watch out

  • These are executive-branch policies. HR checks the employee category; teachers, local-government workers and private workers need their own employer’s rules.

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

Accrued sick leave for a child's serious illness. Up to 160 hours of donated vacation and sick leave combined per fiscal year.

  • $160 — Maximum donated leave a recipient may receive, vacation and sick combined

Legal protection: Sick leave may be taken for a child or foster child's medical appointments or serious illness · Donated leave can extend paid time when a worker's own leave runs out

What it costs the family: Nothing.

The eligibility facts, as published

Who
Employees under Idaho's executive branch statewide personnel policy
Hours
The July 2024 sick-leave policy has employee-category exclusions, including regular work below 20 hours weekly and certain temporary service; HR confirms the actual appointment.
Accrual
0.04615 hours of sick leave for each hour worked or paid, excluding paid compensatory leave
Unknowns
Teachers, local-government staff and private workers need their own employer’s rules. HR confirms concurrent FMLA designation, remaining protected time and health-premium arrangements.
Donated leave
Employer approval, eligible reason, exhausted applicable personal balances and leave-accrual eligibility required. Initial two-week employment pay period excluded; medical certification possible; up to 160 hours per fiscal year.

Expect friction on: Nothing comparable was verified for teachers, city or county workers, or private employers

The trap: These are executive-branch policies. HR checks the employee category; teachers, local-government workers and private workers need their own employer’s rules.

Where I read this

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