LeaveCalc / Sick leave / California

California paid sick leave calculator

Enter your hours worked and see your accrued paid sick leave under California’s law, including any cap and your running balance, instantly and privately.

✓ Free✓ Runs in your browser, nothing uploaded✓ Uses California’s 2026 sick leave rules

1 Your hours

How we count:
  • We multiply the hours you worked by California's accrual rate to estimate hours earned.
  • If the law sets an annual accrual cap, we stop counting new hours once you hit it.
  • If the law sets a maximum balance, your total before subtracting used hours is capped there too.
  • This does not account for hours carried over from a previous year or usage timed partway through the period.
Not legal advice or a payroll record. These are estimates based on the accrual rules on file for California. Always check your actual balance against your pay stub, employee handbook or HR/payroll system; real-world proration and policy exceptions are not reflected here.

The rule in California

“1 hour per 30 hours worked; SB 616 (eff.

“1 hour per 30 hours worked; SB 616 (eff. Jan 2024) raised the floor to 40h/yr (5 days) usable and an accrual-method cap of at least 80h (10 days) -- some cities go higher”

  • Accrual rate. Earn 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours you work.
  • Annual accrual cap. No separate annual accrual cap is set in the data on file.
  • Maximum balance you can hold. 80.0 hours.
  • Payout at termination. Sick leave payout at termination is generally not required unless your employer’s own policy promises it. (This is separate from any vacation-payout rules that may apply in California.)
  • Carryover. Forfeiting EARNED vacation is illegal (Suastez v. Plastic Dispensers). A REASONABLE cap on how much can be earned going forward is allowed -- that caps future accrual, it does not erase hours already banked.
High confidenceOfficial source

How California’s paid sick leave accrual works

Under California’s paid sick leave law, earn 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours you work.

Under California’s paid sick leave law, earn 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours you work. That works out to about 1.3 hours a week for a full-time, 40-hour-a-week employee, or about 69.3 hours over a full 2,080-hour work year, before any cap in the law is applied.

Separately, your total balance (hours you have banked but not used) cannot exceed 80.0 hours at any time, whether or not the law also sets a per-year accrual cap.

Sick leave you do not use is generally not paid out when you leave your job unless your employer’s own policy says otherwise; that is a separate question from California’s rules about ordinary vacation pay at termination, which this page does not cover. On carryover: Forfeiting EARNED vacation is illegal (Suastez v. Plastic Dispensers). A REASONABLE cap on how much can be earned going forward is allowed -- that caps future accrual, it does not erase hours already banked.

Part-time employees accrue the same way, just on fewer hours: someone working 25 hours a week under this law would earn about 0.8 hours of paid sick leave every week, or roughly 43.3 hours over a full year, subject to the same cap rules described above.

FAQ

How fast does paid sick leave accrue in California?

You earn 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours you work.

Is there a cap on how much I can earn?

The state does not set a separate annual accrual cap in the data on file. Your total balance is also capped at 80.0 hours no matter how long you hold onto it.

Can I carry unused sick leave into the next year?

Unused hours generally carry over, but your total balance cannot exceed 80.0 hours; once you are at that ceiling you stop earning more until you use some. For context, California’s general note on ordinary vacation carryover says: Forfeiting EARNED vacation is illegal (Suastez v. Plastic Dispensers). A REASONABLE cap on how much can be earned going forward is allowed -- that caps future accrual, it does not erase hours already banked.

Does my employer’s size change my sick leave rules in California?

No, California’s law does not vary the accrual rate or cap by employer size in the data on file.

Is unused sick time paid out when I leave my job?

Generally, no. Paid sick leave you have not used is typically not required to be paid out when you leave a job, unless your employer’s own written policy specifically promises it. That is a separate question from any rules your state may have about ordinary vacation pay at termination, which this page does not cover.

Where is California’s paid sick leave law?

See the official source: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_vacation.htm. LeaveCalc’s confidence rating for this page is High.