Learn the basics about what paid and unpaid leave you must provide to your employees.

Am I legally required to offer paid vacation and sick leave to my employees?

No. Many employers are surprised to learn that they are not legally required to give their employees paid time off. Despite this legal leeway, however, most employers do offer some variety of paid leave. A generous leave policy can help you attract high-quality employees and improve office productivity and morale.

If you decide to adopt a policy that gives your employees paid vacation or sick time, be sure to apply the policy consistently to all of your employees. If some employees receive a more attractive package than others, you might be vulnerable to a discrimination claim.

I run a small business and cannot afford to have my employees on leave for months at a time. Do I have to provide family and medical leave?

It depends on how small your business is. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which requires employers to give 12 weeks of unpaid leave in certain circumstances, applies only to companies that employ more than 50 people within a 75-mile radius. If your company doesn't meet these conditions, you do not have to provide leave under the FMLA.

However, many states also have family and medical leave laws, and these often apply to smaller business. So even if the FMLA does not apply to you, your state's law might. To learn more about your state leave law, contact your state labor department.

Am I legally required to give my employee leave to care for a sibling?

Not by federal law. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires you to grant leave for your employees to care for seriously ill family members, and it defines family members as parents, spouses, and children. (Parents include those persons who took the place of a parent when the employee was a child; children include those children whom the employee cares for and supports.) The definition, however, does not include many people that most of us consider family members, including grandparents, aunts and uncles, in-laws, same-sex partners, or siblings.