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

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Pennsylvania program

Paid sick days under local laws

Local sick-leave laws can provide paid hours to care for your child. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County each have different rules.

What it is

Local sick-leave laws can provide paid hours to care for your child. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County each have different rules.

Local sick-leave rules depend on where a parent works. Your social worker can help confirm the worksite, employer-size rule and employee category. The employer also checks how much sick time is available.

Eligibility rules
  • Philadelphia generally provides paid leave with 10 or more employees and up to 40 unpaid hours below that size. Earned leave accrues at one hour per 40 hours worked.
  • Pittsburgh's January 1, 2026 limits are 72 hours for employers with 15 or more workers and 48 for smaller employers. Accrual is one hour per 30 hours worked.
  • Allegheny County's law applies at employers with 26 or more employees. Accrual is one hour per 35 county work hours, up to 40 hours yearly.
  • In Philadelphia, a small branch of a chain with 15 or more locations still has to give paid sick time. In all three places you can use earned hours after 90 days on the job, and if your employer's own policy is at least as generous, that policy counts instead.
What you get
  • Philadelphia generally offers up to 40 paid sick hours yearly at employers with ten or more workers. Qualifying chains also qualify at smaller locations.
  • Pittsburgh offers up to 72 paid hours at employers with at least 15 workers, or 48 below that size.
  • Allegheny County offers up to 40 paid hours at employers with at least 26 workers.
What the help includes
  • Pittsburgh permits leave to care for a family member. Allegheny County includes biological, adopted and foster children.
  • The annual limits describe what can be earned under the law. Your available balance depends on accrual and use.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask HR which city or county sick-leave law covers your worksite and how many hours you have earned.
  2. If you choose to request sick time, HR can explain the notice and clinic records needed.
  3. Ask how those hours fit with FMLA and any employer-paid leave.

Your employer’s HR office and the city or county sick-leave enforcement office · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • Approved paid sick hours should appear on the pay statement for the absence.
  • If the employer refuses, a written explanation helps the city or county enforcement office review the issue.
Good to know

The local law follows your workplace. Earned hours generally become usable after 90 calendar days of employment. The employer checks the applicable law and your available balance.

Other details
  • Outside these local laws, pay depends on employer benefits. Federal FMLA can protect an eligible absence but does not itself pay wages.
  • The same absence can involve both sick pay and FMLA. Payroll can explain how it records the time.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Does the local sick-leave law cover my workplace, and how much time can I use for our child's care? Could you help me ask HR how that works with FMLA and other paid leave?”

Why I’m asking: I need to understand which clinic days can be paid and which leave protects 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 for your balance and give written notice for each day.

Your social worker

The social worker supplies a clinic-day letter if HR asks.

The care team

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

Who decides
Your employer applies the local law; the city or county enforces it.
Ask HR
“What is my paid sick balance under the Philadelphia (or Pittsburgh / Allegheny County) law? What notice do you need for my child's clinic days?”

How to apply

First step: Tell HR in writing that you are using sick time under the city or county law and ask for your balance.

  1. Ask HR for your accrued balance under the city or county ordinance.
  2. Give notice in writing for each clinic day.

Where it starts: Tell HR in writing that you are using sick time under the ordinance.

What to gather

  • Your accrued balance
  • Clinic dates
  • Any note HR asks for

How long: Immediate once accrued.

What a yes looks like

Paid hours on the pay stub for the clinic days.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask HR for the reason in writing and check the employer-size rule; complaints go to the city or county enforcement office.

Watch out

  • Work location decides, not home address.
  • Philadelphia hours cannot be used in the first 90 days of a job.
  • Outside these three places Pennsylvania adds nothing to the employer's own policy; federal family leave (FMLA) is unpaid.

Dates that change this

2026-01-01: Pittsburgh's higher schedule (72 / 48 hours) took effect January 1, 2026 under Ordinance 11 of 2025. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

Philadelphia: 40 paid hours a year (10+ employees), 40 unpaid below. Pittsburgh: 72 paid hours (15+), 48 paid below. Allegheny County: 40 paid hours (26+).

  • $40/year — Philadelphia annual paid sick hours (employers of 10 or more)
  • $10 — Philadelphia employer-size floor for paid hours
  • $72/year — Pittsburgh annual paid sick hours (employers of 15 or more, from 2026-01-01)
  • $48/year — Pittsburgh annual paid sick hours (fewer than 15 employees, from 2026-01-01)
  • $15 — Pittsburgh employer-size threshold
  • $40/year — Allegheny County annual paid sick hours (employers of 26 or more)
  • $26 — Allegheny County employer-size floor

Legal protection: Philadelphia: unpaid sick leave, 40 hours a year, at employers of nine or fewer · Pittsburgh: hours can be used to care for a family member · Allegheny County: a biological, adopted or foster child is a covered family member

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

State law
none (no state paid family leave, no state paid-sick floor)
Philadelphia
10 or more employees: paid, 1 hour per 40 worked, 40 hours a year, 90-day wait; nine or fewer: unpaid 40 hours; chain-establishment exception text not found
Pittsburgh
15 or more: 72 hours; fewer than 15: 48 hours; 1 per 30 hours; effective 2026-01-01; family care permitted
Allegheny county
26 or more employees; 1 per 35 county work hours; 40 hours a year; child included; effective 2021-12-15
Keyed on
work location, not residence

The trap: The law follows where you work, not where you live. Philadelphia's hours are earned one per 40 hours worked and can be used after 90 days; Pittsburgh's one per 30; Allegheny's one per 35 hours worked in the county.

Where I read this

← Back to your options