By Ron Lefebvre and Mark Fischer
The City of Pittsburgh (“City”) enacted the Paid Sick Days Act (the “Act”) in March of 2020. The Act, requiring paid sick time, applies to almost all employers based in the City or which have employees who perform at least 35 hours of work during a calendar year within the City. Excepted from coverage under the Act are some government employees, union workers, and seasonal employees.
On June 10, 2025, the City amended the Act (the “Amendment”), so as to change the rate at which employees can accrue paid sick leave and increase the maximum total amount of paid sick leave hours that can be accrued.
The basic requirements of the original Act were as follows: employers with 15 or more employees were required to allow employees to accrue up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, whereas employers with 15 or less employees were required to allow employees to accrue up to 24 hours of paid sick leave per year. Regardless of the number of employees, the Act required paid sick leave to accrue at a rate of one hour of paid sick leave for every 35 hours worked.
As a result of the Amendment, the Act will now require the following: employers with 15 or more employees will be required to allow employees to accrue up to 72 hours of paid sick leave per year, and employers with 15 or less employees will be required to allow employees to accrue up to 48 hours of paid sick leave per year. Regardless of the number of employees, the amended Act will require paid sick leave to accrue at a rate of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
The Amendment goes into effect on January 1st, 2026.
This article is not a complete description of the Act and its coverage features. Please contact us if you have questions regarding these matters and would like help in reviewing your specific circumstances.
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