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

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Ohio program

Your employer's leave and sick-time policy

Ohio has no statewide paid family leave program or general paid-sick-leave requirement for private employers.

What it is

Ohio has no statewide paid family leave program or general paid-sick-leave requirement for private employers.

Ohio has no general state paid family leave program. Federal FMLA may protect unpaid time off, while employer benefits and some public-employee sick-leave laws may provide pay. Your answers here have not settled your employer's legal type, worksite size, hours worked or all leave rules. The social worker can help you ask HR how the rules fit together before a work change.

Eligibility rules
  • Ohio law leaves private-employer family leave and sick leave to policy or agreement; it does not require an employer to adopt a policy.
  • FMLA eligibility depends on the employer, worksite, employment history and hours worked. Public-agency employer coverage differs from private-employer coverage.
  • Under ORC 124.38, effective March 20, 2025, covered public employees accrue 4.6 hours of sick leave per 80 hours of service. Qualifying immediate-family illness can be covered. This is not a universal private-sector or all-public-worker entitlement.
What you get
  • A way to compare employer-paid leave, unpaid leave and federal job protection.
  • Covered public employees earn 4.6 hours of sick leave per 80 hours of service.
What this covers
  • An employer may offer leave or a furlough beyond the legal minimum. Written terms explain pay, benefits and expected return.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask HR for the written leave policy, sick-time balance and FMLA paperwork.
  2. Ask the hospital social worker to help you gather the clinic's medical certification and compare leave options.

Your employer's HR or payroll office · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • An employer's written approval or FMLA designation sets out the dates and conditions of leave.
Good to know

Employer pay and job protection are separate questions. An employer's paid leave may cover an absence that also uses FMLA.

Other details
  • A resignation and an approved absence can have different consequences for insurance and unemployment eligibility.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“What paid time, unpaid leave and job protection could I use for treatment days? Could you help me compare the tradeoffs before I choose?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand what time away from work would mean for our pay, insurance and my job.

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 HR in writing for the leave policy, the FMLA forms and any unpaid-leave or furlough option. Keep the answer.

Your social worker

The social worker gets you the doctor's letter FMLA needs and goes through the options with you before you decide anything.

The care team

Completes the FMLA medical certification.

Who decides
Your employer decides under its own policy. The U.S. Department of Labor enforces FMLA.
Ask HR
“Ohio has no state leave law, so I am asking in writing. What leave, sick time, FMLA and unpaid-leave or furlough options does our policy give me for my child's cancer treatment?”

How to apply

First step: Ask HR in writing this week for the leave and sick-time policy, the FMLA forms, and any unpaid leave or furlough option.

  1. Ask HR in writing for the leave policy and FMLA forms before treatment days pile up.
  2. If the employer is under 50 people, ask for written unpaid leave rather than resigning.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask HR in writing for the leave and sick-time policy, FMLA paperwork, and any unpaid leave or furlough option

What to gather

  • Employee handbook or benefits summary
  • Employer headcount and your start date
  • Clinician letter for FMLA

How long: Same week for the policy. The FMLA paperwork runs on the employer's timetable.

What a yes looks like

A written leave approval, or FMLA designation, with dates.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the employer offers nothing, do not resign yet. Read the unemployment item first, and ask in writing for a furlough or for the employer to end the job rather than you quitting.

Watch out

  • No city sick-leave rule rescues you. State law makes these the employer's own policy.
  • Under 50 employees, or under a year on the job, FMLA does not apply and Ohio has no substitute. Ask for written unpaid leave.
  • A public employee's 4.6 hours per 80 worked is real. Ask payroll for the balance.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 9, 2026.

What it is worth

No Ohio leave law for private employers: your employer's policy and federal FMLA are the whole picture. Public employees: 4.6 hours of paid sick leave per 80 hours worked, usable for a family member.

  • $4.6 (state and other covered public employees only (ORC 124.38)) — Public-employee sick leave earned per 80 hours of service

Legal protection: Public employees: sick leave usable for an immediate family member's illness when the employee's presence is reasonably necessary (OAC 123:1-32-05)

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Private employers
no state family-leave, paid-sick-leave or kin-care law; ORC 4113.85 (effective 2017-03-21) makes these the employer's policy or agreement and requires no employer to adopt one
Public employees
4.6 hours of sick leave per completed 80 hours of service; immediate-family use under the state personnel rule
City floors
none found (NOT FOUND 2026-09-08)

Expect friction on: Everything depends on the employer's handbook

The trap: Assuming a city rule helps. No Ohio city has a sick-leave rule for private employers that we could find, and state law leaves these to the employer's policy. Public employees are different: 4.6 paid hours per 80 hours worked, usable when a close family member is ill and you are needed.

Where I read this

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